Report: ‘Soldiers’ At Hostage Release Ceremonies Get $200, Dress In Hamas Uniforms And Carry Guns

JERUSALEM (VINnews) —Many young Gazans who once resided in the Gaza Strip are now living in Berlin. Those who emigrated from Gaza to the German capital, now far removed from the Strip, are no longer afraid to speak out about life there.

Hamza, a 26-year-old Gazan originally from the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza city, has not seen his mother for two years. In front of the Israeli camera of Channel 12 News, he mustered the courage to say things that very few Palestinians dare to express, after having been interrogated by the terror organization following a protest against the high cost of living in Gaza.

“At the protest, there were Hamas operatives dressed as civilians. In Gaza, you never know if the person in front of you is Hamas or not—you can’t identify them with 100% certainty. After the protest, someone dragged me into a car, where they started beating me even before we arrived at the station. All this happened because I said two words: ‘We want to live,’ which, under Hamas’s laws, is a crime,” he recounted.

He told Ehud Yaari: “I once jokingly told my father that maybe I should join them. They provide a salary and a car, so why not? He told me that if I did, it would be the last time I would set foot in his home.”

“I was in their main headquarters, at the Islamic University. I know many people who joined Hamas not because they believe in it, but simply for financial benefits. Some of my close friends joined them,” Hamza said.

Rami, another former Gaza resident who spent time in Hamas prisons, left Gaza long ago. For over a decade, he faced Hamas’s punitive system, simply because he called for normalization with Israel—one of the gravest offenses under Hamas rule.

He spoke about October 7: “On October 7, for the first time, Hamas carried out an attack in full view of the media. Usually, when they commit attacks, media coverage is prohibited, but this time, they wanted the footage broadcasted to show that the people support them,” Rami explained.

Ahmed Mansour is one of the most prominent voices against radical Islam in Europe. In an interview with Channel 12 News, he spoke about Hamas’s embedded networks in Europe. “I believe that most Gazans who arrived in Europe are not Hamas supporters, but they have been turned into supporters here. Unfortunately, some people have absorbed Hamas’s extremist ideology. Hamas propaganda is everywhere in Gaza—in kindergartens, educational institutions, television, and public spaces. Even if you don’t want to see it, it’s always there.”

Hamza, another former Gazan, described how easily Hamas recruits people but claimed that the organization is not as professional as it was before October 6. “Who joins Hamas? People who live in tents, who struggle all day to get a meal and still don’t succeed. Hamas tells them: ‘Come, and we’ll give you a monthly salary,’ and that’s it.”

He explained that “it used to take over two years before you could enlist in the Al-Qassam Brigades. Today, people in Gaza say that those participating in hostage-release ceremonies receive $200 each, and half of them are not even Hamas members. They just put on uniforms and carry weapons to project an image of victory,” Hamza said. “If I were in Gaza and they offered me $200, I would do it too—then take off the uniform and go on my way. They forget about you, and you forget about them.”

Hamza added, “It’s not easy to protest against Hamas. Everyone knows that any criticism of them will at least land you in intensive care after they shoot you in the knees. So instead, I’d raise a Hamas flag over my house. Think of them as ISIS, just with better PR.”

He also related that even in Berlin, there are neighborhoods where speaking out against Hamas is impossible “because they will attack you and shout at you until you think like them. Neukölln is one of the most notable examples.”

Güner Yasemin Balcı, a journalist specializing in Islamic immigration in Germany, told Channel 12 News that since October 7, she has been searching for Gazan immigrants who still want peace. According to her, she is “still looking for them. I haven’t found enough—only a handful.”