Five Hostage Stories the Media Is Ignoring Because the Hostages Were… Palestinians
The release of Israeli hostages from Gaza has been widely covered by the Western press. But what about the hundreds of freed Palestinian hostages, and their stories of trauma and suffering?
On Monday, Hamas returned all 20 of the remaining living hostages to Israel as part of the new ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Of course, the media has been all over the story, covering the joy of reunited families in Israel, as well as the suffering those hostages faced while in Hamas’s captivity.
But when it comes to the almost 2,000 Palestinians who were released by Israel as part of the deal – including more than 1,700 of whom were being held in Israeli prisons without charge – there has been silence from much of our mainstream media.
That’s why we at Zeteo are telling you about five Palestinian hostages whose heartbreaking stories you need to hear about:
1. Haitham Muaen Salem
When Haitham Muaen Salem learned he was set to be released as part of the ceasefire deal, he hurried to make a bracelet for his daughter as a gift for her second birthday.
But when he returned to Gaza on Monday, he immediately broke into tears upon learning that not just his daughter, but also his wife and other children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike just days before his release. His daughter’s second birthday was just five days away.
“My children are dead,” Salem cries. “My loves were killed. None of them remained alive.”