Hamas’s Out-of-control Media Stunts during Hostage Releases Failed to Demoralize Israel

January 27, 2025

by: Gadi Ezra ~ Ynetnews

Monday, 27 January 2025 | There are moments when a psychological operation spirals out of control. No matter how much planning, practice and coordination takes place, reality on the ground tends to cast all those aside. In such cases, correction in real time is often impossible. Life has its own dynamics, and with it comes the realization that the desired outcome wasn’t achieved. Sometimes, the result is nothing short of a resounding failure.

This is exactly what happened to Hamas during the ceremony of handing over the Israeli hostages to the Red Cross. What began as a calculated psychological operation ended in a propaganda defeat against the spirit of the returning hostages.

An analysis of the event reveals Hamas targeted three main audiences. For the international public, Hamas aimed to create legitimacy in preparation for future actions. For example, the slogan on the stage declared in English: “Victory of the Oppressed Against Zionist Nazism.” This was a deliberate attempt to align with woke culture, which views the world through the binary lens of oppressors and oppressed. It is too early to assess the impact of the event on this front, but it seems Hamas hoped for a different outcome with its other two audiences.

The first of these was the Palestinian public. The ceremony aimed to further establish Hamas’ sovereignty over Gaza. Various symbols highlighted this: the uniforms worn by the militants, the use of institutional elements (such as stamps), and the enthusiastic crowd present at the event. What was supposed to solidify this message was the return of hundreds of thousands of residents to northern Gaza shortly afterward. However, Israel’s refusal to allow this, amid agreement violations —even if temporary—has the potential to cause Hamas embarrassment. In other words, Hamas may learn that, in distorted situations, as with agreements, statements without follow-through can cause more harm than good.

If there was a particularly glaring failure during the event, it was in relation to the Israeli public. Hamas aimed to harm morale and create humiliation. A clear example of this was a prominent sign in Hebrew declaring, “Zionism will not win.” The procession of Liri, Daniella, Karina and Naama was meant to serve as a reminder of this. In practice, it was intended as a display of control. But even control has its limits. Hamas may have forced the four to speak, wear ridiculous clothing, display odd tags, and accept suspicious certificates, but it could not suppress what cannot be tamed: their spirit.

Thus, above the sign meant to undermine Zionism and social solidarity, stood four smiling lionesses, staring hundreds of murderers in the eye and projecting the exact opposite of Hamas’s intent. While Hamas may have had an interest in showing they were in relatively good condition, what these women radiated went far beyond that. They spoke to an entire nation with their eyes, reminding everyone: We are strong even here, and we will soon be home with you.

True, the battle for public perception will not be decided by one event, and not every stage of the deal will look like this. Difficult days lie ahead. But for a few moments, on one stage, four soldiers who emerged from hell managed to unite an entire nation. And if that’s not a victory in the battle for public perception, it’s unclear what a true victory in this arena would be.

Gadi Ezra is the former director of Israel’s national public diplomacy unit, Int’l and constitutional lawyer, speaker and author.

Posted on January 27, 2025

Source: (This article was originally published by Ynetnews on January 26, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson/GPO

Photo License: GPO