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Hamas Violates Hostage Release Deal — But the Media Refuses to Care
An ambulance believed to be carrying hostages released as part of a deal between Israel and Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas, drives near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel November 26, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Even as leading news agencies Reuters and Associated Press are quick to report Hamas’ questionable claims of Israeli truce violations, they turn a blind eye to Israeli complaints of a Hamas violation: the terror organization has separated families and released a child without her mother.
Hila Rotem Shoshani, 12, returned to Israel Saturday night. Hamas continues to hold her mother Raya hostage in Gaza. Yet, under the heading “Fragile Deal,” Reuters’ James Mackenzie details Hamas complaints about alleged Israeli truce violations (“Hamas, Israel release prisoners: American girl, 4, is released“):
Clashes and recriminations have threatened to torpedo the existing deal.
The killing of a Palestinian farmer in the central Gaza Strip had earlier added to those concerns. The farmer was killed when targeted by Israeli forces east of Gaza’s long-established Maghazi refugee camp, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The armed wing of Hamas also said on Sunday that four of its military commanders in the Gaza Strip had been killed, including the commander of the North Gaza brigade, Ahmad Al Ghandour. It did not say when they had been killed. …
Further down, the article adds more details concerning Hamas’ charges of Israeli violations.
The deal survived an earlier threat when Hamas’ armed wing said on Saturday it was delaying hostage releases until Israel met all truce conditions, including committing to let aid trucks into northern Gaza.
Saving the truce took a day of diplomacy mediated by Qatar and Egypt, which President Biden also joined.
Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades also said Israel had failed to respect terms for the release of Palestinian prisoners that factored in their time in detention.
COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians, accused Hamas itself of delaying trucks trying to deliver humanitarian aid to northern Gaza at a checkpoint.
“To Hamas, residents of Gaza are their last priority,” it said on Sunday.
Qatari diplomats are now on site in Gaza to supervise the entry and delivery of their country’s aid, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said.
Reuters, however, does not say a word about Israeli complaint that Hamas has violated the truce by releasing a child without her mother.
As The Times of Israel reports (“Girl Freed From Gaza without her mom says Hamas separated them, in breach of deal“):
Hila Rotem Shoshani, a 13-year-old girl who was released from Gaza captivity overnight Saturday without her mother, Raya, told relatives that they were held hostage together until being separated two days before the release.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Hila’s uncle Yair Rotem said this contradicted Hamas claims that they did not know where Raya, 54, was — and constituted a clear violation of the truce deal, under which the Gaza terror group committed not to separate mothers from their children.
Speaking from Sheba Hospital where Hila was being examined, Yair Rotem said, “Hila returned without her mother and that is a clear violation of the agreement with Hamas. We demand from Hamas and the mediators that Raya be returned home as they agreed, immediately.”
Similarly, CNN reported that an IDF spokesman complained of Hamas violating the truce agreement on keeping families together (“Israeli military spokesman claims Hamas violated deal by not releasing teenage hostage’s mother“):
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is claiming Hamas violated the terms of the truce by releasing a teenage girl without her mother.
On Saturday, 13-year-old Hila Rotem was freed without her mother Raaya Rotem despite demands from Israeli officials.
“They were supposed to not split families, but they released a teenaged girl and they kept her mother, Raaya, in captivity,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN.
When the IDF asked about Hila’s mother, Hamas claimed they did not know where she is, Conricus said.
“The daughter tells us that they were together up until two days before the release,” Conricus said, adding he believes Hamas kept Raaya Rotem to maintain leverage.
The Associated Press, for its part, has been attentive to Hamas complaints about alleged Israeli truce violations, reporting following the release of Hila without her mother (“Israel and Hamas complete second day of swaps after tense delay, as Gaza cease-fire holds“):
The late-night exchange was held up for several hours after Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement. The delay underscored the fragility of the cease–fire, which has halted a war that has shocked and shaken Israel, caused widespread destruction across the Gaza Strip, and threatened to unleash wider fighting across the region. …
The last-minute delay created a tense standoff on the second day of what’s meant to be a four-day cease-fire. By nightfall, when hostages had been expected to emerge from Gaza, Hamas alleged that aid deliveries permitted by Israel fell short of what was promised and that not enough was reaching hard-hit northern Gaza. Hamas also said not enough longtime prisoners were freed in the first swap on Friday.
But Egypt, Qatar and Hamas itself later said the obstacles had been overcome.
About the release of Hila while her mother remains hostage, AP said only: “The mother of one of the released hostages, 12-year-old Hila Rotem, remained in captivity, the [Kibbutz Be’eri] spokesperson said.”
But Kibbutz Be’eri’s statements about the continued captivity of Raya Shoshani did not stop there. As The Times of Israel reported (“Kibbutz Be’eri: Hamas ‘grossly violated’ hostage deal by releasing child without her mother“):
Kibbutz Be’eri, where 12 of the 13 hostages released last night were kidnapped from on October 7, says that while the community was “happy and excited” about the return of the hostages, Hamas violated the terms of the deal when it released 13-year-old Hila Rotem without her mother, Raya.
“Hila is returning home without her mother Raya, who remains in captivity. Hamas grossly violated the agreement, and separated mother and daughter,” the statement says, according to the Walla news site.
“Three children from two families from the kibbutz were torn from their only remaining parent,” the statement says.
Also released last night were 17-year-old Noam Or and his 13-year-old sister, Alma.
Their mother Yonat was murdered by terrorists on October 7, and their father Dror remains hostage in Gaza, along with his 18-year-old nephew Liam.
One of the terms of the agreement with the terror group, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, was that no child should be separated from their mother when released. Despite that, Hamas delayed the release of the hostages last night, claiming that in fact it was Israel that was violating the agreement.
Isn’t it past time that the Associated Press and Reuters report Israeli complaints about Hamas’ violation of the deal by breaking up families? Or are only Hamas’ concerns newsworthy?
Tamar Sternthal is the director of CAMERA’s Israel Office. A version of this article previously appeared on the CAMERA website.
The post Hamas Violates Hostage Release Deal — But the Media Refuses to Care first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Says Eight Arrested for Suspected Links to Israel’s Mossad Spy Agency
The Mossad recruitment ad. Photo: Screenshot.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday they had arrested eight people suspected of trying to transmit the coordinates of sensitive sites and details about senior military figures to Israel’s Mossad, Iranian state media reported.
They are accused of having provided the information to the Mossad spy agency during Israel’s air war on Iran in June, when it attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
A Guards statement alleged that the suspects had received specialized training from Mossad via online platforms. It said they were apprehended in northeastern Iran before carrying out their plans, and that materials for making launchers, bombs, explosives and booby traps had been seized.
State media reported earlier this month that Iranian police had arrested as many as 21,000 “suspects” during the 12-day war with Israel, though they did not say what these people had been suspected of doing.
Security forces conducted a campaign of widespread arrests and also stepped up their street presence during the brief war that ended in a US-brokered ceasefire.
Iran has executed at least eight people in recent months, including nuclear scientist Rouzbeh Vadi, hanged on August 9 for passing information to Israel about another scientist killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Human rights groups say Iran uses espionage charges and fast-tracked executions as tools for broader political repression.
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Body of Idan Shtivi, Murdered on Oct. 7, Retrieved from Gaza in Special IDF Operation
Idan Shtivi. Photo: Courtesy of the family
i24 News – The body of Idan Shtivi, a 28-year-old murdered by Palestinian jihadists at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, was recovered in a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet in central Gaza, it was cleared for publication on Saturday.
Shtivi’s remains were returned to Israel alongside the body of Ilan Weiss, another hostage killed during the October 7 massacre.
“Idan Shtivi was abducted from the Tel Gama area and brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists after acting to rescue and evacuate others from the Nova music festival on October 7th, 2023. He was 28 years old at the time of his death,” read an IDF press release.
“Following an identification process conducted at the National Center for Forensic Medicine, along with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters notified his family.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Shviti “was a gifted student of sustainability and governance, and a courageous individual” who acted heroically on October 7, helping others flee.
“He was killed in the process and his body was abducted to Gaza by Hamas. My wife and I send our heartfelt condolences to the Shtivi family. So far, 207 hostages have been returned, 148 of them alive. We will continue to act tirelessly and decisively to bring back all our hostages—living and deceased.”
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Woman Stabbed at Ottawa Grocery Store in Latest Antisemitic Attack
A social media post by the alleged attacker, Joseph Rooke of Cornwall, Ontario. Photo: Screenshot via i24
i24 News – The stabbing of a Jewish woman at an Ottawa grocery by a man with a long history of antisemitic posts on social media, the latest antisemitic hate crime in Canada, sparked outrage and prompted condemnation from officials including the prime minister.
Both the victim and the attacker are in their 70s. The woman is reportedly in serious condition.
The suspect was identified as Joseph Rooke, who has authored a series of lengthy rambling screeds on social media, ranting against Israel and Jews.
“Judaism is the world’s oldest cult,” he writes in one post, going on to say “over time jews have become insidious in governments, businesses, media conglomerates, and educational institutions in order to do what they do better than anyone else. Jews are the world’s masters of propaganda, gaslighting, demonization, demagoguery, and outright lying. Using their collective wealth they have become masters of reprisal.”
“I am under no obligation whatsoever, legal, moral, or otherwise, to like jews and I do not. If that means I meet the jewish definition of an anti-semite, so be it.”
Canada has seen a steep spike in antisemitic attacks over the past two years, including a recent incident in Montreal where a Hasidic Jew was beaten in front on his children.
After Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the incident, many, including former Israel’s ambassador the US Michael Oren, pointed out that Carney’s rhetoric and policies contribute to the increasing insecurity of Canada’s Jewish community through uncritical embrace of outrageous and easily disprovable allegations that Israel and its supporters were guilty of the worst crimes against humanity.