In a recent interview with an Israeli TV station, Chen Goldstein-Almog, an Israeli hostage released in November 2023, said that when she and her daughter, Agam, were let go, they were transferred to a Red Cross vehicle that was surrounded by a large crowd of people.
“I remember that Agam told me: ‘Mom, today we’re going to die,’” she said, recalling that moment. “It was terrifying until the end.”
In an interview after last Sunday’s release of hostages, Yves Daccord, the former director general of the Red Cross, said handoffs of hostages should occur in a quiet place, away from the public.
“In general, the ideal is without a crowd,” Mr. Daccord said. Releasing hostages at a large public gathering, he added, was laden with risks and unpredictability.
Israeli medical professionals advocating for hostages in Gaza warned that chaotic handoffs could trigger traumatic memories of the hostages’ first moments in Gaza, in which militants drove some of them through rowdy crowds.
“The release is reliving, to some extent, the kidnapping,” said Dr. Hagai Levine, the head of the medical team with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli group.
Since the cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel came into effect last Sunday, Hamas has worked hard to show that it remains the dominant Palestinian party in Gaza, with militants parading through city centers and police officers deploying at intersections.
It is not clear how many fighters, police officers, bureaucrats and political leaders survived the war, but by showcasing the handovers in such a public way, Hamas made clear that it is still standing in parts of Gaza that were subjected to some of the most destructive bombing attacks of the war.
Patrick Kingsley contributed reporting.
