NEW: The Red Cross reprimanded Israel for taking photos of the release of Hamas prisoners from Israeli prisons.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) February 1, 2025
Meanwhile in Gaza… they have yet to condemn Hamas’s spectacle and actively participated in a staged hostage release photoshoot.
The hypocrisy is obscene. pic.twitter.com/IWyNxFUtfb
On Saturday, a confrontation erupted between the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and the Red Cross during the release of terrorist prisoners as part of the hostage deal. According to Kan 11, the Red Cross attempted to prevent the IPS from photographing the prisoners as they exited the service’s vehicles and approached the organization’s buses, which were set to transport them to Khan Younes.
The IPS told the Red Cross this was an operational photo shoot aimed at preventing claims from the released security prisoners or from other parties regarding their condition or the manner of their release. Despite this, the Red Cross continued to insist on its position banning the shots.
The IPS criticized the Red Cross, stating: “In Gaza, you go on stage and take pictures, and here you prohibit photography.” Ultimately, the IPS was allowed to take photos.
The Red Cross responded: “We do not address the claims of anonymous parties or the dialogue we are having with the authorities.”
According to the PA Prisoners’ Office, security prisoners were released from Israeli prisons on Saturday as part of the fourth phase of the deal. Among them, 14 were serving life sentences, with seven being deported to the Gaza Strip and the rest to Judea and Samaria. Additionally, 111 residents of Gaza who were arrested after October 7 but deemed uninvolved in the fighting were also released.
PA reports indicate that Yarden Bibas was classified as a humanitarian case, with Gazan detainees released in exchange for him along with 12 security prisoners, while another 60 security prisoners were freed in exchange for Keith Siegel and Ofer Calderon.
A security source said that the Red Cross expressed resentment over the way the Prison Service led the prisoners from Ktziot prison – handcuffed, hands above their heads, with a bracelet on it that read “The people of eternity do not forget.”
Prison Service spokesman Zivan Freidin responded by saying that “the prisoners are dealing with the worst of Israel’s enemies, and until the last moment on Israeli soil they will be treated under prison rules. We will not compromise on the security of our people.”
Of course, the bracelets were placed on the prisoners’ wrists in response to the Hamas paraphernalia that has been routinely tagged on the released Israeli hostages.
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