Hamas releases Israel woman, 2 children following military operation

The Palestinian resistance released an Israeli woman and two children after capturing them during Saturday’s military operation into Israeli-held territory.

In a video aired by Al Jazeera on Wednesday, a woman in a blue and pink jacket was seen walking toward one of the children, embracing them as fighters walked away after apparently dropping them off near the fence separating Gaza from Israel.

It was not clarified when the incident took place, but some media outlets have speculated that she was released on Saturday, the same day Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was launched.

According to the AFP news agency, a statement by the Qassam Brigades confirmed that the woman was an Israeli national and said that “an Israeli settler and her two children were released after they were detained during the clashes.”

Israel’s military and much of the country’s media have dismissed the video as being staged or dramatised, however, with Avichay Adraee – the Israeli military spokesman for Arabic-language media – stating on X: “Hamas is trying to change the truth through the theatrics of publishing a propaganda video through its media mouthpieces.”

Adraee added: “The truth is clear and obvious, and its features will become more clear in the coming days. Hamas is worse than ISIS [Daesh], and we will continue to strike it hard without stopping.”

It is not yet known how many Israelis the Palestinian resistance captured, but it is thought that the group intends to use them as a bargaining chip and leverage in an effort to secure the release of Palestinian detainees held by the Israeli occupation.

READ: Al-Aqsa Flood drowns Israeli myths of invincibility