An "unprecedented" mobilization of the Qassam Brigades.. What messages did the scenes of handing over the fourth batch of prisoners carry?

The release of three Israeli prisoners held by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip on Saturday was accompanied by a large military and security mobilization described as “unprecedented,” indicating that Israel’s goal of having the “day after” without Hamas is far from being achieved.

The handover of prisoners to Red Cross crews in Khan Yunis and Gaza Port, today, Saturday, as part of the fourth exchange batch in the ceasefire agreement, was accompanied by crowds of Qassam elements who spread out along the roads leading to the two handover platforms.

Various military formations from the Qassam Brigades appeared in the huge crowds that secured the prisoners’ release operation, and the Olive Battalion, the Shuja’iyya Battalion, the Beach Battalion, and the Apple Battalion participated in it.

In addition to the role of the shadow unit tasked with securing the Israeli prisoners, infantry, sniper and armor units participated in the military buildup, which shows that Qassam retained its various units.

Ghoul and Tavor

The Qassam soldiers appeared in full military gear, and the Ghoul rifle was present, which Qassam used to snipe Israeli officers and soldiers during the aggression on Gaza, in addition to the Israeli "Tavor" weapon that the resistance seized from the occupation soldiers.

In the operation to release the prisoners Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon in Khan Yunis, the Qassam Brigades used an Israeli vehicle that the resistance had seized from the Gaza envelope settlements in Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa.

The Qassam Armor Unit displayed anti-armor shells, especially the Al-Yassin shell, which was used to hit Israeli armored personnel carriers, tanks, and armored vehicles during their incursion into Gaza neighborhoods.

The soldiers gathered and chanted military parades and raised pictures of the Qassam leaders whose martyrdom was announced by the military spokesman Abu Obeida, headed by the Chief of Staff Mohammed Deif, on the delivery platforms, in a message confirming that despite the absence of the leaders, the brigades’ units were not affected, and that they fought in the battle despite the absence of half of the members of their military council.

"They will conquer their enemy"

Al-Qassam Brigades broadcasts footage of the handover of the fourth batch of occupation prisoners in the Gaza Strip as part of the first phase of the "Al-Aqsa Flood Deal." pic.twitter.com/qR3nKPP9nK

— Radwan Al-Akhras (@rdooan) February 1, 2025

According to analysts, the success of the Qassam Brigades in this mobilization and before that the continuation of the battles despite the martyrdom of the leaders, adds another dimension to the success of the resistance in its organizational and military structure and the element of discipline and coordination between the different units and the multiple organizational levels.

In every operation to hand over Israeli prisoners, Al-Qassam chooses a different location from the north of the Strip to its south, and from its east to its west, and in all of this it sends meaningful messages, as it did today when it made the handover platform at the Gaza port on Al-Rashid Street on its eastern side, which is the street that witnessed the gathering of the return of the displaced from the south of the Strip to its north, which Israel wanted to be a closed military zone.

The Palestinian resistance does not stop sending its own messages to Israel, through engineering scenes of prisoner handovers that become stronger each time, according to political researcher Saeed Ziad. But the strongest message - in Ziad's opinion - was represented by the appearance of the commander of the Beach Brigade, Haitham Al-Hawajri, who the Israeli army announced was killed during the war.

Channel 13 Israel confirmed that Hamas sends a message every time it hands over a number of prisoners, and said that the choice of the handover sites reflects its control over these areas despite all the blows it has received.

It cannot be said - in Ziad's opinion - that this crowd of organized fighters - who appeared during the process of handing over the fourth batch of prisoners today, Saturday - is not affiliated with the Qassam Brigades, which Israel says it has almost completely dismantled.

The scene of these prisoners - from Ziad's point of view - reflects the discipline of this resistance despite the absence of a large part of their leaders, while Israel tortures the prisoners to the point of killing them and confiscating their bodies, as happened with the martyr Walid Daqqa.

The political researcher compared what the resistance, which former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant described as human animals, is doing, with what the occupation soldiers are doing, and said that this matter requires the world to take a stand against the behavior of each party towards its prisoners.

The resistance imposes its presence strongly

Military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, said that the scenes of the handover of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip confirm that the resistance is still imposing its presence strongly in most areas of the Strip, contrary to the Israeli narrative that claims that most of its battalions have been destroyed.

Earlier, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), handed over three Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip to the International Red Cross in the port of Gaza City and the city of Khan Yunis, as part of the fourth exchange batch within the framework of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Al-Falahi explained, in an analysis of the military scene in the Gaza Strip, that wars often end with a process of negotiations and prisoner exchange, which is an essential part of stopping the fighting and moving to political action.

"There is no basis for the boasting of a complete victory by Netanyahu's supporters," added Harel, a military affairs analyst for Haaretz. "One would have to be a blind follower who has gotten rid of all remnants of doubt and criticism to believe that Israel has actually defeated Hamas."

"the next day"

This spread and the intensive presence of Hamas elements in the organization and securing the prisoner exchange process bring back the idea of the “day after” in Gaza, which was and still is a major knot in the Israeli war on the Strip, as Tel Aviv seeks to end Hamas rule in Gaza, while Washington fears that “there will be a vacuum that will be filled by chaos,” as stated by former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Although the American vision is not yet clear during the era of President Donald Trump for the day after, his repeated statements about transferring the residents of the Gaza Strip to neighboring countries were met with Egyptian and Jordanian rejection, in addition to widespread Palestinian rejection.

The American newspaper, The Washington Post, published a plan by former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, which was later adopted by the Israeli government, which included the establishment of a joint military force from the United States, European countries, and moderate Arab countries, while a local Palestinian force would assume civil rule.

Observers believe that this military build-up and the heavy presence of Hamas in Gaza send clear signals that the "next day" in Gaza, if it is not "Hamas-related," cannot be without Hamas, as Israel is betting on.

Source: Yemen Youth Net + Al Jazeera