When Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher disembarked from a Red Cross Jeep and were welcomed by IDF forces who returned them to Israel on Sunday after 471 days in Hamas captivity, they were seen holding paper bags.
Channel 12 reported that these "cynical goody bags" were given to the returnees by Hamas terrorists as they relinquished them to the Red Cross representatives as part of the terror organization's physiological terrorism and propaganda.
According to the report, the bags consisted of a map of the Gaza Strip and photos of the returnees from their time in captivity.
The three hostages returned to Israel on Sunday evening and were taken for medical evaluations.
This is not the first time that Hamas attempted to use hostages, up the their last moments in captivity, for propaganda. During the previous hostage deal, in November 2023, Hamas terrorists forced the returnees to wave at the news cameras.