Former IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner, a seasoned expert in media coverage, recently shed light on Hamas’s ongoing manipulation of public perception during the release of three Israeli hostages on Sunday.

The hostages, freed after 15 months of captivity as part of a 42-day ceasefire agreement, were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza amidst highly orchestrated media optics.

Lerner took to social media platform X to address the portrayal of events on the ground, calling out the staged scenes meant to project Hamas’s strength. “I was asked several times today about the optics of Hamas’ obvious strength.