Hours after the rescue of hostage Farhan al-Qadi, Hamas has not yet commented on the Israeli success or the operation in which he was rescued. Nevertheless, social media accounts associated with the terrorist organization are attempting to downplay the achievement, claiming it was an initiative by Hamas itself. On the Telegram channel Gaza Now, which is considered close to Hamas, two messages in Hebrew were published, claiming that al-Qadi was released because he was arrested by mistake: “The Palestinian resistance released Farhan al-Qadi, a Palestinian-Muslim, and took him outside the southern borders of the Gaza Strip to return to his family because he was arrested by mistake.”
In another message, it was claimed: “Hamas released a 'Muslim prisoner' who holds an Israeli passport. The occupation is lying to its people to show false and deceptive achievements regarding 'Israeli prisoners.'”
Even among Gaza residents, similar sentiments are heard: “He was released by chance and by mistake. It wasn’t a complicated operation as the army claims, which found him by accident – it’s a fictional victory image being marketed to its internal front,” wrote one resident. Other residents claimed that “Hamas left him behind after transferring the other hostages to different areas to secure them. It seems that securing him was burdensome for Hamas, especially when the price for him is not significant in Israel’s view.”