The British newspaper Daily Mail, which recently revealed that 154 Hamas terrorists released as part of the hostage deal had been staying for several weeks in a five-star luxury hotel in Cairo, reported Tuesday that the hotel management has decided to expel them.
According to the updated report, the terrorists were transferred to another upscale hotel, Egyptian-owned, located about an hour from both Cairo’s airport and city center.
Photos published by the Daily Mail showed the Cairo hotel and two of the released prisoners, including Mahmoud Issa and Azz al-Din al-Hamamara, both freed by Israel.
The report stated that the new hotel remains open to public bookings, but due to its remote location it currently hosts few tourists. Security has been significantly increased, and the terrorists are not permitted to leave the premises for day trips in Cairo. Any visitors who come to meet them are under strict supervision.
The new hotel, also described as luxurious, is reportedly a five-star resort featuring a large swimming pool, spa facilities with a jacuzzi, sauna, steam rooms, fitness center, tennis courts, and two soccer fields. Room rates start at 200 pounds sterling per night and rise to 1,400 pounds for a suite. The resort includes three restaurants, several bars, and cafés.
In its earlier weekend report, the Daily Mail said the first hotel—the Renaissance Cairo Mirage City—had hosted part of the group of 250 life-sentence prisoners released by Israel under the agreement for the return of hostages and the end of the war. Undercover Daily Mail journalists booked rooms at the hotel and found themselves alongside “murderous jihadist terrorists,” including an ISIS member and a senior Hamas figure.
According to the British report, some of the released terrorists may soon relocate to Qatar, Turkey, or Tunisia — “destinations very popular among British tourists,” the article noted.
Among the 154 released prisoners identified were Mahmoud Issa, a senior Hamas operative who founded the special Unit 101, which aimed to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners by kidnapping Israeli soldiers; ISIS member Azz al-Din al-Hamamara, involved in a 2004 suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus that killed eight people and wounded dozens; Samir Abu Nima, who led another bus attack; and Ismail Hamdan, who kidnapped and murdered an Israeli in 2002.
According to Tuesday’s update, the terrorists were removed from the luxury hotel within hours of the Daily Mail’s publication, after the report revealed they were vacationing alongside unsuspecting Western tourists. The paper added that a British airline crew staying at the hotel was “horrified” by the news, as they had no idea that a group of jihadists was lodged there.
Moshe Suvill, CEO of the Israeli nonprofit OneFamily, which supports terror victims and their families, said: “The Daily Mail’s exposé is of great importance. It exposes to the world the moral absurdity whereby murderers are pampered while families continue to live with unending loss. At least they have now been moved away from innocent tourists.”
He added: “We hear from many families a deep sense of pain and humiliation, knowing that the murderers who destroyed their loved ones’ lives are enjoying five-star conditions. We expect the State of Israel and the international community to ensure that those who shed innocent blood are not rewarded but are held fully accountable for their actions.”