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The Media Was Hamas’ ‘Gift’ in Latest Grotesque Parade of Israeli Hostages
US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen and Russian-Israeli Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, are escorted by Palestinian Hamas terrorists and Islamic Jihad terrorists as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
There was an air of inevitability to the coverage of this week’s Israeli-hostage-Palestinian prisoner exchanges, a key part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
From the moment the grotesque spectacle began — set against a freshly adorned stage draped in banners splashed with slogans in Arabic and broken Hebrew — it was clear that Hamas had choreographed this show for at least two audiences, each meant to take away very different messages.
Hamas turned the latest exchange into a dark spectacle—boastful posters, stolen IDF gear, and ominous “gifts” for hostages to bring back. While much of the media ignored it, we won’t look away. pic.twitter.com/W9jnEpXqJo
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 15, 2025
The first was, of course, Israel. Hamas wanted to send a message to the Israeli public — the very people it had so brutally attacked on October 7 — that it remained unbowed and undefeated. That it was just as capable of unleashing another wave of terror on Israeli civilians.
That’s why Hamas operatives arrived dressed in stolen IDF uniforms, brandishing Israeli weapons looted from their October 7 massacre. That’s why the hostages were transported to the release point in a vehicle stolen on that same day. It was psychological warfare wrapped in a grotesque display of theater.
And then there was the “gift.”
Hamas handed hostage Iair Horn a package to take back to Israel — a twisted reminder that his younger brother, Eitan, remains in captivity. It was an hourglass. Placed in Horn’s hands as he stood sandwiched between masked men, he was forced to hold it aloft for the cameras and the crowd. Inscribed on it were the faces of hostage Matan Zangauker and his mother, Einav — a prominent advocate for the release of the captives — alongside a chilling message: “Time is running out.”
Another intended recipient of Hamas’ performance was the international media. With billions of people in their reach, these outlets inform the masses — and as we have seen, many have been all too willing to launder Hamas’ image, buying into its propaganda. That’s why Hamas has eagerly invited journalists to film these grotesque spectacles, confident that much of the press will fail to call them what they are.
For Israelis, these weekly parades of innocent people, who have now been held for nearly 500 days, have been nightmarish. It is gut-wrenching to watch them marched onstage like props in a performance before they can be welcomed home. And the sick “mementos” handed to them week after week? They are not gifts.
Which is why it was so disappointing to see these terror tactics described as such. When CNN called an hourglass — intended for the mother of a man still held captive, inscribed with a threat to murder him — ”memorabilia,” it wasn’t just inaccurate. It was obscene. It is difficult to believe that any journalist, in any context, could not find a more appropriate word.
No, @CNN, the hostages weren’t carrying “memorabilia.” They weren’t leaving a holiday camp with souvenirs. The hourglass, a cruel taunt from Hamas, bore an image of Matan Zangauker, still in captivity, meant for his mother with the message: “Time is running out.”
Stop erasing… pic.twitter.com/cC4f15wacj
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 15, 2025
And when Hamas “gifted” hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen a pair of earrings for the infant daughter he had never met — born while he was in captivity — it was not a touching gesture. It was a message. A warning. A reminder that Hamas can reach even the most innocent, just as it did on October 7, when dozens of children were murdered.
But for much of the press, this is ignored. Once again, Hamas finds a willing accomplice in the international media, which dutifully presents a sanitized version of a bloodthirsty terrorist group. This, even as Hamas operatives literally stand on a stage draped in images of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with propaganda images of the October 7 massacres in the background, alongside a message to the world (and a reference to former US President Donald Trump’s migration policy): “No migration except to Jerusalem.”
We said there was an air of inevitability to this week’s coverage — coverage that, we should note, saw Sky News once again repeat the insidious on-air claim that “Palestinian hostages” were being exchanged for Israelis held in Gaza.
We’ve seen this distortion countless times before: the press’s unwillingness to ever truly acknowledge Israelis as victims — even when they have been slaughtered in their homes, held hostage for months, paraded onstage like trophies, and handed explicit threats disguised as “gifts.”
Sky News has once again disgraced itself, calling Palestinian prisoners “hostages” during live coverage of the exchange.
These shameless, false moral equivalences must end. @SkyNews and Nomi Bar-Yaacov owe an immediate apology. pic.twitter.com/5R2UZTTNhQ
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 15, 2025
Instead, what do we get? Earnest coverage about how terrified an International Red Cross worker must have felt speaking to Hamas terrorists at the exchange — but not a word about the stunned, hollow-eyed captives being marched before a crowd by the very men who kidnapped them over 15 months ago.
Hamas may wish to project an image of strength, to strike fear into Israeli society — among ordinary people who simply want to live in peace. It won’t succeed. But its vile attempt is aided by credulous journalists eager to repackage its propaganda and soften its image. Whether they do so wittingly or not, the effect remains the same.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Iran and the United States have agreed to continue nuclear talks next week, both sides said on Saturday, though Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi voiced “extreme cautious” about the success of the negotiations to resolve a decades-long standoff.
US President Donald Trump has signaled confidence in clinching a new pact with the Islamic Republic that would block Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.
Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held a third round of the talks in Muscat through Omani mediators for around six hours, a week after a second round in Rome that both sides described as constructive.
“The negotiations are extremely serious and technical… there are still differences, both on major issues and on details,” Araqchi told Iranian state TV.
“There is seriousness and determination on both sides… However, our optimism about success of the talks remains extremely cautious.”
A senior US administration official described the talks as positive and productive, adding that both sides agreed to meet again in Europe “soon.”
“There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” the official added.
Earlier Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi had said talks would continue next week, with another “high-level meeting” provisionally scheduled for May 3. Araqchi said Oman would announce the venue.
Ahead of the lead negotiators’ meeting, expert-level indirect talks took place in Muscat to design a framework for a potential nuclear deal.
“The presence of experts was beneficial … we will return to our capitals for further reviews to see how disagreements can be reduced,” Araqchi said.
An Iranian official, briefed about the talks, told Reuters earlier that the expert-level negotiations were “difficult, complicated and serious.”
The only aim of these talks, Araqchi said, was “to build confidence about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.”
Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, said “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran,” but he repeated a threat of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Shortly after Araqchi and Witkoff began their latest indirect talks on Saturday, Iranian state media reported a massive explosion at the country’s Shahid Rajaee port near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, killing at least four people and injuring hundreds.
MAXIMUM PRESSURE
While both Tehran and Washington have said they are set on pursuing diplomacy, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
Since 2019, Iran has breached the pact’s nuclear curbs including “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr.
Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.
Moreover, European states have suggested to US negotiators that a comprehensive deal should include limits preventing Iran from acquiring or finalizing the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile, several European diplomats said.
Tehran insists its defense capabilities like its missile program are not negotiable.
An Iranian official with knowledge of the talks said on Friday that Tehran sees its missile program as a bigger obstacle in the talks.
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Palestinian Leader Abbas Names Likely Successor in Bid to Reassure World Powers
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on Saturday, the Palestine Liberation Organization said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor.
Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Abbas. He is widely viewed as a pragmatist with very close ties to Israel.
He was named PLO vice president after the organization’s executive committee approved his nomination by Abbas, the PLO said in a statement.
Reform of the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the West Bank, has been a priority for the United States and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pressure to reform has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, where the PLO’s main Palestinian rival Hamas has battled Israel for more than 18 months, leaving the tiny, crowded territory in ruins.
The United States has promoted the idea of a reformed PA governing in Gaza after the war. Gulf monarchies, which are seen as the most likely source of funding for reconstruction in Gaza after the war, also want major reforms of the body.
CALL FOR HAMAS TO DISARM
Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the destruction of Hamas but it has also ruled out giving the PA any role in government there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas, which follows a militant Islamist ideology, has controlled Gaza since 2007 when it defeated the PA in a brief civil war after winning an election the previous year. It also has a large presence in the West Bank.
At a meeting of the PLO’s Central Council on Wednesday and Thursday that approved the position of vice president without naming an appointee, Abbas made his clearest ever call for Hamas to completely disarm and hand its weapons – and responsibility for governing in Gaza – to the PA.
Widespread corruption, lack of progress towards an independent state and increasing Israeli military incursions in the West Bank have undermined the PA’s popularity among many Palestinians.
The body has been controlled by Fatah since it was formed in the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 and it last held parliamentary elections in 2005.
Sheikh, who was imprisoned by Israel for his activities opposing the occupation during the period 1978-89, has worked as the PA’s main contact liaising with the Israeli government under Abbas and been his envoy on visits to world powers.
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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
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