Hamas terrorists mock female hostages, release them with ‘goodie bags’ as souvenirs

By World Israel News Staff

In a disturbing revelation, Israeli media reported that Hamas forced three recently released hostages from Gaza—Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher—to participate in a staged propaganda ceremony before their release.

The hostages were handed “gift bags” by their captors, an act that highlights the psychological manipulation employed by the terror group.

The gift bags, reportedly handed to the hostages just before they were transferred to the Red Cross, included unsettling items: a photo of Gaza, photographs of the hostages during their captivity, and a so-called “certificate of release.”

According to Hebrew-language reports, these items were designed to leave a lasting psychological imprint on the survivors, embedding memories of their trauma into tangible objects.

Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, held together in captivity, were allegedly coerced into posing for photos while smiling and holding their certificates.

This grotesque ceremony, described as a “farewell” by Hamas, forced the hostages to simulate gratitude toward their captors, further compounding their psychological distress.

A video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed the hostages clutching these bags as they were handed over to Israeli troops, a chilling reminder of the torment they endured.

Experts have pointed out that such staged acts serve dual purposes for Hamas. On one hand, they aim to perpetuate the group’s narrative of “humanity” despite the underlying brutality of their actions. On the other, they act as a method of psychological warfare, ensuring that the trauma of captivity lingers long after the hostages have been freed.

The staged ceremony and its accompanying “souvenirs” reveal the calculated cruelty of Hamas’s tactics.

For the survivors, these so-called gifts are not tokens of remembrance but haunting symbols of their ordeal, serving as constant reminders of the psychological and emotional scars left by their time in captivity.

 

Interesting How Victims of the “gen*cide” don’t want a Ceasefire At All

 

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The Returned Hostages .... a quick summary

Three sheep amongst a thousand wolves!

 

Reaction of friends and family as they watch the hostage release.

"This is Romi, back from captivity. You guys are the best in the world": The voice message Romi sent to her friends on WhatsApp.

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Hamas hostage seen reunited with mom after 15 months in captivity as family reveals she lost two fingers

 Emily Damari, one of the three Israeli hostages freed on Sunday, was seen in social media pictures reunited with her mother while on a video call.

Damari met with her mother at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, per the Times of Israel.

Damari, who was wounded in a shooting on Oct. 7, 2023, lost two fingers during the assault, according to her family.

She is seen holding up her bandaged left hand, showing the gruesome injury.

“After 471 days – Emily is finally home,” her mother Mandy Damari said in a statement.

 We would like to thank from the bottom of our hearts everyone who fought tirelessly for Emily throughout this difficult time.  To everyone who raised her voice and called her name, in Israel, England, the United States and the whole world – thank you.  Thanks to you, Emily came home.

“Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, but there are still too many families still waiting in pain.  We must work together for the release of all the abductees, down to the last one.  Those still in captivity need immediate humanitarian assistance.

” We ask the media to respect the privacy of Emily and our family at this time.”

Is Trump's Envoy Witkoff going to be a disaster?

 

I hate to say it everyone, but I think Witkoff is going to be a disaster.

First of all, here he appears to draw a moral equivalence between Hamas and right-wing Israelis who oppose the deal—which is gross.

And just below it, he demonstrates zero understanding of Hamas' ideology pic.twitter.com/TNCztTyW37

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) January 19, 2025

IDF TAKES OUT CAR LOAD OF HAMAS CELEBRATING VICTORY

 

IDF TAKES OUT CAR LOAD OF HAMAS CELEBRATING VICTORY

They came out a few minutes too early https://t.co/doA8c9MLN3

— 💙Hostage Release Live 🇮🇱🇺🇲🇬🇧🇮🇳Jerusalem🔥 (@JerusalemDiary) January 19, 2025

Adam Schiff Re-Hires Former Radical Pro-Palestinian Staffer Maher Bitar

 

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has re-hired Maher Bitar, a former White House staffer who spent his student years as a pro-Palestinian radical in Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and played a major role in the Biden administration.

Bitar’s new job is confirmed by Legistorm. He also previously worked for Schiff during the first impeachment effort against then-President Donald Trump, who will return to office on Monday.

As Breitbart News reported last year:

Maher Bitar, the White House Coordinator for Intelligence and Defense Policy at the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), was a radical pro-Palestinian activist and a leader within Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

The SJP is one of the most prominent groups involved in the pro-Hamas, antisemitic “encampment” protests that have taken over dozens of university campuses. Its parent group is also the target of a lawsuit by survivors and families of victims of the October 7 terror attack that alleges SJP is a propaganda front for Hamas in the U.S.

In addition, conservative author Daniel Greenfield wrote about Bitar’s record for the Jewish News Syndicate:

At the PSM [Palestine Solidarity Movement] conference in Georgetown [in 2006], Bitar had run a session describing how to best demonize Israel. Next year, he facilitated a Palestinian Student Society summit addressed by Joseph Massad, who had called Israel a “Jewish supremacist state” and praised terrorism.

…

A few years later, Bitar could be found presenting at a Sabeel conference featuring some of the worst bigots like Rebecca Vilkomerson of JVP, who had invited a terrorist to address the BDS hate group, and Richard Falk, who had endorsed a book which wondered whether “Hitler might have been right after all.”

…

Bitar went to work for UNRWA, interned at the misnamed and militantly anti-Israel Foundation for Middle East Peace and studied at Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre, writing papers on the so-called “Nakba” and on “Palestinian” activism. He appeared to describe Israel’s security barrier as a “segregation wall.”

Schiff is considered a pro-Israel Senator, by the standards of the Democratic Party, but his reliance on Bitar for advice on national security policy signals a possible shift mirroring the anti-Israel drift of much of the rest of his party.

Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher to be released today

 Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher are the three hostages who will be released this afternoon after more than 470 days in captivity in Gaza.

Romi Gonen, 24, from Kfar Vradim, was abducted from the Novas music festival. At 10:15 a.m. on October 7, 2023, she told her mother, Merav Leshem-Gonen, on the phone that she had been shot. Her family confirmed earlier today that she will be among the hostages who are released today.

Emily Damari, 28, from Kfar Gaza, is a British citizen. Her mother, Mandy, expressed deep concern in an interview with the BBC last month that her daughter was no longer alive. “I am desperate for a sign of life,” she said.

Doron Steinbracher, 31, from Kfar Aaza, worked as a veterinary nurse when she was kidnapped from her home on October 7. She was among the three hostagess who appeared in a video released by Hamas on January 26.

The hostage release is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

Hamas was supposed to have provided the names of the three hostages who are to be released today by 8:30 a.m. this morning. However, it only provided the names of the hostages at about 10:00 a.m., an hour and a half after the deadline, delaying the start of the ceasefire by that amount of time.

A small number of hostages will be released every week over the course of the first phase of the ceasefire, which will last six weeks. 33 hostages are expected to be released in total during the first phase, out of 98 hostages who are still being held in Gaza.

The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, in a post on his X account

 

“If the ‘deal’ passes, we will leave the government with a heavy heart, and I will leave a ministry where I have invested all my energy over the past two years. I will step down with a heavy heart after establishing the growing National Guard, implementing a weapons reform, reforming the prison system, founding a special unit to combat incitement, restoring pride to police officers, prison and fire fighters, strengthening the Border Police, Special Patrol Unit (Yasam), and the Counter-Terrorism Unit (Yamas). I fought for fair salaries and gave them the support they deserve, and I was in the midst of strengthening and expanding municipal police stations to provide optimal service to citizens.

I love Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will ensure he continues to be Prime Minister, but I will resign because the deal that was signed is disastrous. It releases hundreds of terrorists with blood on their hands who, upon release, will seek to murder the next Jew. It allows thousands of terrorists to return to the northern Gaza Strip with weapons—with the sole intent of killing Jews. It harms Israel’s defensive capabilities along the Philadelphi Corridor and other critical points, and it reverses all the war’s successes that cost us so much blood.

During my two years in the government, I also dealt with things I liked less and that didn’t align with my views. That’s the nature of coalition partnerships—sometimes you have to swallow quite a few frogs. But when such a terrible deal arises, one that abandons the security of Israel’s citizens and crosses every red line the government set for itself, even though the easiest path would be to stay in the government and continue the massive reforms in the ministry, it must not continue. This is a moment of truth for every politician: Does a person give up all their beliefs for the sake of their position, or give up their position for the sake of their beliefs? My beliefs have been shaped by attending far too many funerals. I will not lend my hand to a reckless deal.

I am filled with pride for the ministers and Knesset members of the party who demonstrated strength and integrity, agreeing to give up everything because they refuse to be partners in this agreement. Minister Waserlauf and Minister Eliyahu are both giving up ministries where they have done remarkable work—I was always proud of the praise they received. MK Fogel is relinquishing a committee where he performed wonders, providing support to the security and rescue forces and turning it into the most productive committee in the Knesset—a real legislative powerhouse. Likewise, the talented MK Kroizer is giving up his influence in the Judicial Appointments Committee, and MK Limor Son Har-Melech, the soul of Otzma Yehudit, is also giving up an important role. They stood bravely, voiced their opinions, and voted one after another in favor of resignation.

The hostages are close to my heart and to the hearts of all party members. We want to see them freed and reunited with their families, but not through surrender to Hamas. Instead, we must stop the transfer of fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza until all the hostages are returned home.

If the war resumes and we know that the Israeli government is acting to defend its citizens and not leaving a massive terror hub in Gaza, we will return to the government. We are not toppling this government and will support it from the outside, but we will not be partners to a defeatist agreement.

We will vote against the deal in the government, and if it passes, we will submit our resignation.

The ‘Otzma Yehudit’ party will continue to be here for you in everything you need.”

Crap that will End Tomorrow!

 

This shlit ends in 2 days

pic.twitter.com/Gzh50UGI8d

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 18, 2025