Surrounded by an IDF security detail, 19 terrorists were released back into the Gaza Strip after months of detention in Israel. Footage obtained by Arutz Sheva-Israel National News shows the terrorists crossing the border into the Gaza Strip.
At this time there is no information regarding the identities and threat levels of the released terrorists or the amount of time they have spent in Israeli custody. Still, at 8:20 a.m. they made their way through the Kissufim Check Point back into the Gaza Strip.
Soldiers who were asked to secure the passage of the released detainees to the Gaza Strip expressed severe anger over the task that they were charged with. "Again Israel is giving bargaining chips back to the enemy without receiving anything in return. The hostages are still in Hamas' tunnels, we aren't getting any information about their condition and we are certainly not getting them, yet still, terrorists, members of Hamas, the murderous terror organizations that spared no brutal means against us, are being released."
In an attempt to find the individual who decided to release the terrorists, Arutz Sheva-Israel National News contacted the IDF Spokesperson who referred us to the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and the Shin Bet (ISA). The IPS Spokesperson stated that the IDF is the one who orders the release and the one who signs the order is an officer at the rank of Brigidere General or Major General. A source in the IDF estimated that the order came from the political echelon.
In June, when Israel released several dozen terrorists, including Muhammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Shifa Hospital which turned out to be a Hamas headquarters and arms depot, everybody blamed the other and the Prime Minister's Office pledged that the incident would be investigated so that it would not repeat itself.
At the time, it was claimed that the terrorists were released due to a lack of space in the prisons and in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling, but the IPS released footage proving that there was no shortage of space.
On the other side, the ISA blamed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for not ensuring ample detention conditions for the terrorists, and in response, Ben-Gvir blamed the ISA Director and claimed that he told him that if the terrorists' conditions would not improve he would release them.