Hamas in Gaza has expanded the locations it is using as a backdrop to declare “victory” over Israel as part of the hostage and ceasefire deal. During the first hostage release Hamas was still in chaos following the ceasefire, as it emerged from tunnels in central Gaza.
On January 25 the terrorist group had graduated from chaos to being able to create a choreographed event to release four women IDF soldiers. The event included Hamas driving them around central Gaza and forcing them to praise Hamas in Arabic. It then paraded them onto a stage and conducted a ceremony before handing the women over to the Red Cross.
On Thursday, January 30, Hamas is increasing its staged events. It is releasing three Israelis and it is seeking to showcase its “victories” over Israel. It is using Jabaliya in northern Gaza as a backdrop for one of the events. The IDF had fought in Jabaliya several times during the war, most recently from October 2024 to January 2025. Hamas sees its ability to have withstood the battle in Jabaliya as a victory.
Once again Hamas has produced a poster describing its war against Israel. It calls this a “victory of the oppressed people vs. Nazi Zionism.” It I also says Gaza has become the “graveyard of the criminal Zionists.” It praises the Al Aqsa Flood, which is the name it gave to the October 7 attack. It says the “Palestinian fighters of freedom will always be victorious.”
Hamas is using symbolism from Israel’s infantry and armored brigades in one of the posters it erected on January 30. One poster shows several symbols that Hamas has taken from IDF brigades that fought in Jabaliya. It has re-imagined the symbols in defeat. For instance the Givati brigade has a symbol of a red fox and a sword.
Hamas has stabbed the fox with the sword in the poster and it says that Jabaliya was a “grave” for the Givati Infantry brigade. The 401st Armored and the Kfir Brigade also fought in northern Gaza under the command of the 162nd Division. Hamas has placed their names on the poster as well. Hamas also added the logo of the Nahal Infantry Brigade and put the word “Beit Hanoun” in it, arguing that it was defeated in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
Hamas’s symbolism
This is all part of the Hamas symbolism. Hamas followed Israeli media reports and IDF announcements about the role of these units. These units fought in northern Gaza and have been redeployed as part of the ceasefire deal. Some of them had wrapped up operations even before the deal. The IDF had a tough battle in Jabaliya. Around 70,000 civilians had to be evacuated in October. Then the IDF fought street-by-street to defeat an estimated thousands of terrorists.
Hamas is trying to claim that it emerged victorious in this area. The fact is that Hamas took losses and its men retreated to hide in hospitals and hide in the rubble. The men conducted hit and run attacks and laced buildings with booby traps and explosives.
However, Hamas also did succeed in surviving in Gaza. For Hamas the concept is that survival as a group is enough to declare victory. Hamas has done this before in other battles in Gaza in 2009 and 2014. This is its strategy. Israel did not come up with a strategy to remove Hamas. Israel fought a similar war as in the past, reducing Hamas “capabilities” and so far, leaving Hamas in charge of Gaza. Hamas began the war by murdering more than 1,000 Israelis in one of the worst one day massacres in human history, and the worst mass murder of Jews since the Shoah. Hamas also kidnapped 250 people, including women, children, elderly people and foreign workers. After 480 days of war Hamas holds 90 hostages and has returned to run Gaza. Hamas claims this is a victory.
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