Iranian state propaganda site PressTV repeated a claim by the genocidal terrorist organization Hamas, which Iran funds, that the jihadists “made all efforts” to protect the dozens of hostages it took during the gruesome invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hamas took over 200 hostages on that day, in addition to killing an estimated 1,200 people and engaging in widespread acts of torture, rape, and desecration of corpses. Many of these hostages were sexually assaulted, tortured, and eventually killed in Hamas captivity in Gaza; some were lost, leading Hamas to claim it could not return them.
On Monday, following negotiations led by President Donald Trump, the 20 remaining living Israeli hostages taken on October 7 returned home, released by Hamas as part of a long-term peace deal that seeks to dismantle the genocidal jihadist organization and restore legitimate rule to Gaza. Hamas has not, at press time, returned the bodies of the 28 remaining hostages in its custody whom it killed.
Contrary to extensive evidence that Hamas gruesomely tortured the hostages, PressTV claimed, citing Hamas itself, that the jihadists attempted to treat the hostages well, blaming the government of Israel for any threat to their lives.
“Resistance made all efforts to preserve the lives of the occupation’s prisoners, despite the attempts of war criminal [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his terrorist army to target and eliminate them,” the Hamas statement reportedly read. The statement went on to accuse Israel of torturing prisoners in its country, who were convicted for a variety of crimes after being granted due process, and are thus in no way hostages.
Hostages freed during previous exchanges in the aftermath of October 7 have repeatedly testified to experiencing extreme torture, humiliation, sexual violence, and starvation. In February, freed hostage Eli Sharabi, who lost 40 percent of his body weight in captivity, described being trapped in iron chains and regularly beaten, as well as being forced to survive on one plate of pasta a day.
A month later, American former hostage Keith Siegel testified for the first time about his experience, describing being forced to watch Hamas terrorists rape female hostages. He stated that the terrorists beat and starved him personally. In May, reports surfaced about the treatment of released hostage American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, who the Times of Israel narrated “suffered severe torture and was held handcuffed in a cage for an extended period of time.”
Prior to the final release of living hostages on Monday, Hamas used the hostages to stage elaborate and heinous propaganda displays. Among the most disturbing of these displays occurred in February, when Hamas released the bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, five years and nine months old respectively when Hamas murdered them on October 7. At an event to release the boys and their still living mother, Shiri Bibas, the terrorists enthusiastically paraded the children’s small coffins and blamed the Israeli government for their deaths.
As part of these displays, the Israeli government revealed after the initial waves of hostage releases, the terrorists drugged the hostages with tranquilizers to prevent them from exhibiting a natural reaction to the trauma they had experienced and appear to have been treated humanely.
Monday’s release did not feature a coffin parade, which the United States and Israel reportedly demanded would not happen as part of the peace deal. Instead, Hamas terrorists held phone calls with some of the families of the hostages prior to their release. The families were shown video footage of their loved ones alongside a masked terrorist, supervising the exchange. Reports indicate at least one family refused to take the call.
Iran is the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism and a primary bankroller of Hamas. According to the U.S. Department of State, Iran spends about $100 million a year on Hamas and similar terrorist groups in Gaza, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Iran also reportedly spends $700 million on the Shiite jihadist terrorist group Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, which has unsuccessfully waged war against Israel on Hamas’s behalf since October 7.
The Iranian government offered a lukewarm response to the news that Hamas had freed its hostages, allowing for the beginning of the end of the war Hamas began on October 7. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters on Monday that Israel was an untrustworthy country on ceasefire, accusing it of a “lack of commitment” and stating that it would continue to remain “vigilant.” Baghaei also repeated Iran’s regular threats of violence against Israel and the United States.
“Iran… can both counter any threat appropriately and create an opportunity from within a challenge,” he said.
The tone contrasted sharply to that in Israel, where President Trump addressed the Knesset on Monday declaring an end to the carnage of the past.
“This is not only the end of a war, but the end of an age of terror and death, and the beginning of an age of faith and hope,” President Trump said.
Trump visited Israel to welcome back the hostages, address the Knesset, and meet with Israeli leaders. On Tuesday, he will attend a peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other regional leaders to discuss the long-term implementation of the Gaza peace deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi revealed on Monday that Sisi invited Iran to participate, but the regime rejected this olive branch.
“Iran is grateful for President El-Sisi’s invitation to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit,” Araqchi said in an online statement. “While favoring diplomatic engagement, neither President [Masoud] Pezeshkian nor I can engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us.”
“Iran has always been, and will always remain, a vital force for peace in the region,” Araqchi outlandishly claimed. “Contrary to the genocidal Israeli regime, Iran is not after Forever Wars — particularly on the dime of its purported allies — but seeks Forever Peace, Prosperity, and Cooperation.”
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