From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 20, 2025
Critics say small crowd at Gaza hostage release was made by Hamas to seem like it was bigger
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Hamas critics in Gaza have been sharing on social media a photo of today’s transfer of the three Israeli hostages from the terror group’s fighters to the Red Cross, revealing that the crowd present was smaller than what may have appeared in Hamas’s footage of the event.
Those posting the zoomed-out photo are arguing that the terror group is far less popular in Gaza following 15 months of war sparked by its October 7, 2023, onslaught, which has left the coastal enclave and its population decimated.
Only several hundred Hamas members and supporters appear to have been present at the transfer.
I was asked several times today about the optics of Hamas’ obvious strength.
Here’s the real optics:
A few hundred people crammed together to make it look like endless masses.
Today the images from the ground were orchestrated by Hamas, they wanted to project power, everything… pic.twitter.com/PDCeIw3zW7— Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) January 19, 2025
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