Footage of armed, balaclava-clad and green headband-wearing Hamas terrorists surrounding three female Israeli hostages as they were escorted to freedom after 471 days in a Gazan hellhole is a powerful illustration of the high price the Jewish state has been forced to pay in return for a ceasefire deal.

Despite Israeli forces over the past 15 months bombarding Gaza, killing almost 47,000 Palestinians and being accused of genocide, the message Hamas operatives sent on Sunday was clear: the militant group is still in charge and is going nowhere.