Hamas fighters stood on the Gaza border formerly considered crucial to keep them at a distance.
Eight heavily armed men, carrying apparently impeccable military uniforms and distinctive green headbands of Hamas, stood on Monday at the top of concrete in the corridor of Netzarim, welcoming the tens of thousands of gasians returning to what remained of their houses in the North . With their AK-47 attached to their vests and their covered faces, the combatants took selfies, shake their hands and put back from the passers-by.
Assisted and registered by a team of NBC news in Gaza, the presence of combatants during a crossing considered vital to prevent Hamas from entering northern Gaza raises major questions about one of the declared objectives of ‘Israel in the launch of the war: eliminating the militant group behind the objectives of Israel worse terrorist attack in Israeli history.
Later, the crew captured images of Hussein Fayyad Abu Hamza, a superior commander of Hamas, was declared dead by Israel, inspecting citizens in the northern city of Beit Hanoun.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly promised to destroy Hamas after killing 1,200 people and took 250 hostages to his surprise on October 7, 2023. More recently, he softened the objective, to destroy the grip of activists on power.
“We set three war objectives: the first objective of war was to destroy the military and governing capacities of Hamas,” he said on September 4. “The second was to release our hostages. And the third was to make sure that Gaza never represents a threat to Israel again.”
The members of the Qassam brigades, the Hamas armed wing, welcome civilians on Monday back to Gaza City in Netzarim.
The Israeli defense forces did not respond to requests for comments on what this kind of appearance means, while the Netanyahu office refused to comment.
A ceasefire was reached after the head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar and other superior activists, were killed by Israeli forces in October, and after more than 47,000 Palestinians-most women and children , according to local officials – were killed in the Israeli assault on October.
Israeli attacks have devastated Gaza, destroying or damaging more than 90% of its housing units and leads a large part of the population to sordid tents, according to the United Nations.
‘Perpetual war’
The scene of the Netzarim corridor on Saturday was similar to that of Palestine Square in Gaza City earlier in the week, when four Israeli hostages stood at the top of a scene surrounded by hundreds of masked armed men from Hamas. A poster sporting “Zionism will not win” hung on a platform below them.
Covered in Palestinian flags, the place exploded with cheers when the hostages were given. The music climbed while the children climbed on the stage table, where representatives of the Red Cross had signed transfer documents a few minutes before.
Hamas activists in Gaza City await the arrival of international Red Cross vehicles on Saturday.
Hamas fighters during the transfer of hostages on Saturday.
“It was a Hollywood production. It was very ordered, “said Gershon Baskin, an Israeli who has acted as a mediator in Hamas for decades. “It seemed that there was this group which really controls everything.”
According to American evaluations, Hamas recruited almost as many activists it lost during the war.
“Whenever Israel ends its military operations and withdrew, Hamas activists come together and reappear, because there is nothing else to fill the void,” said former secretary of state Antony Blinken at the Atlantic Council this month. “It is a recipe for a lasting insurgency and a perpetual war.”
And just as the missiles stopped whistling on Gaza on the morning of January 19, the first day of the ceasefire, Hamas fighters emerged. With their hidden faces and wave their green flags, they push their rifles to the sky.
“It was a message in the West Bank, that we are a national power for the Palestinian people, not just a fundamentalist group,” said Ronni Shaked, researcher at the Harry S. Truman Institute of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “In Israel, they said, we are still at war.”
Activists kiss before the delivery of four Israeli hostages to Gaza City on Saturday.
The signaling of Hamas occurs while the exceptionally fragile ceasefire presents daily challenges on both sides.
On Saturday, Israel accused Hamas of raping the agreement by not publishing the Civil Hostage Arbel Yehud and blocked the Corridor of Netzarim, preventing the displaced Palestinians from returning north.
“There is a deep distrust that exists between both sides,” said Ghada Soliman, Middle East analyst at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “He can collapse at any time.”
Finally, the meditators resolved the dispute and Israel allowed access on Monday.
Fighter convoys
While the ceasefire takes place, Hamas has resumed daily operations
The convoys of fighters made their way through Khan Younis in the south of Gaza on January 20, according to the video shot by NBC News in Gaza which showed crowds singing slogans: “We are your men, Mohammad deif”, in Reference to the biggest commander of Hamas “Military Wing, the Qassam brigades, which, according to Israel, said that she killed an air strike last year.
Nearby, with his whistle and his deep blue font uniform, Abdul Wahab Abdul Raouf Samour made a sign of traffic.
He was one of the many officers who had been recalled at work, he said.
“We have received orders from the Ministry of the Interior to carry our police uniforms and take to the streets to help citizens and manage traffic in the region,” Samour, 40, told the new team NBC.
Hamas fighters surround a vehicle on the Red Cross while the hostages are exchanged in Gaza City on Saturday.
Humanitarian aid trucks, carrying everything, from food and bottled water to commercial products, crawled in Khan Younis. While the trucks embarked on the dusty streets, they were sometimes seen escorted by convoys of armed men, or with men standing at the top of the cargo to prevent theft.
Some armed men from Qassam were also parked in the streets to ensure the safe delivery of the aid.
Palestinian police announced on January 22 that they were working “to establish security and public order, support citizens, protect their goods and restore the aspects of life in the sector”.
He also urged people to report on emergency hotlines all suspicious objects or unploded bombs while “teams specializing in explosives engineering” have started to clean the areas.
“I had hidden my uniform for a day like this, and today it’s my best day,” said Samour.
This article was initially published on NBCNews.com
