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Released Terrorist Hopes for More Kidnappings to ‘Empty the Prisons,’ Blesses Hamas for Her Freedom
Signs are stuck onto empty chairs as people await news of hostages expected to be released by Hamas, amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 25, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
One of the Palestinian female terrorist prisoners who has been released in exchange for 26 Israeli hostages is hoping for more kidnappings of Israelis “to empty the prisons.”
Welcomed by a crowd of cheering Palestinians after her release, terrorist Hanan Barghouti praised Hamas — “the resistance” — for her freedom, thereby blessing their terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the taking of more than 200 hostages.
She implicitly called for more kidnappings when she expressed hope that “the resistance will release all the female prisoners, and will empty the prisons”:
Released terrorist Hanan Barghouti: “May Allah bless Muhammad Deif [i.e., Hamas terror leader] … The people wants the Al-Qassam Brigades [i.e., Hamas’ military wing], the people wants the Al-Qassam Brigades … Children of the Gaza Strip, we will meet in Paradise. We will meet in Paradise, and the victory is yours! …
May Allah bless the resistance [i.e., Hamas], if not for the resistance we would not be seeing freedom. Our freedom is thanks to them, our dignity is thanks to them, and our heads are held up high thanks to the resistance.
If not for the resistance, not one prisoner would have returned … Here! Here! Here! The Al-Qassam Brigades! … The female prisoners are waiting for salvation… We still raise our heads up high, stand firm … Allah willing, the resistance will release all the female prisoners, and will empty the prisons. We are raising our heads up high thanks to the resistance.”
[“Beita Direct – Monitoring and Observation,” Telegram channel, Nov. 24, 2023]
Posted text: “In video: ‘We raise our heads up high with the resistance’ – the first words of released female prisoner Hanan Barghouti, who was sentenced to 6 months of administrative detention, and is the mother of 4 prisoner sons in the occupation’s [i.e., Israel’s] prisons.”
Hanan Barghouti is a 59-year-old female Palestinian terrorist who was put in administrative detention on Sept. 5, 2023, for promoting and supporting terrorism. Barghouti was released on Nov. 24, 2023, as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas in which Israel agreed to release 150 terrorist prisoners in exchange for 50 Israeli and foreign hostages during the Israeli counter-terror operation against Hamas’ terror war on Israel. Upon her release, Barghouti praised Hamas and implicitly called for more kidnappings, stating that Hamas (“the resistance”) will “empty the prisons.”
The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.
The post Released Terrorist Hopes for More Kidnappings to ‘Empty the Prisons,’ Blesses Hamas for Her Freedom first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.