In a bizarre twist, it now appears that the three hostages released by Hamas on Sunday were given "gift bags" upon their release. The symbolic items inside included certificates showing how much time they had spent in captivity, photographs of the hostages themselves, and a map of the Gaza Strip.
These so-called "captivity certificates" seem to serve as some grim reminder of their time. Although details on the contents and what it was meant to convey aren't known, the gesture has also served to raise speculation on the motivations behind such a symbolic act.
The freeing of the hostages and this very strange presentation of these items continue to capture a lot of attention in light of the tensions in the region. This underlines the complexity of the dynamics of the conflict and the psychological games being played in such high-stakes exchanges.
Stay tuned for more on the Israel-Hamas conflict and other related developments.