As President Trump himself articulated on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the legacy, liberal media have been surprisingly respectful and tonally correct in expressing admiration for the peace deal between Israel and Hamas and capturing the emotion from Israelis as the 20 living hostages reunited with their families.

But in the middle of the night here in the U.S., one NBC international correspondent celebrated the Palestinian prisoners being released as “hostages” because some were merely “minors, doctors, nurses, journalists who have never been charged” but jailed by Israel under “administrative detention.”

Daniele Hamamdjian told senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson that the nearly 2,000 Palestinians being turned over from Israeli prisons are “freedom fighters” and “hostages” in the eyes of “many Palestinians”:

Notice how, the further Hamamdjian went down the Hamas propaganda rabbit hole, Jackson was interjected to try and cut her off.

Just over ten minutes later, Hamamdjian doubled down, despite Jackson trying to steer her comments:

Humanitarian aid. Part of this peace deal involves more aid getting into Gaza. And the United Nations is saying today that they have already seen a scale up in the aid getting to where it needs to go, as we’ve seen these images now of Palestinians returning to what what very little, if anything, is left of their homes. 

None the less, the international reporter immediately went back to sounding like someone who belonged on al-Jazeera:

I’m reminded of words by a UN official months ago who said, there are no more words left in the vocabulary to describe the situation in Gaza. Remember that, you know, it was already in the first few weeks of the war, October 31st, 2023, I remember distinctly a UN official already describing Gaza as a graveyard for Palestinian children and here we are two years later, nearly 20,000 children dead and much needed aid.

She then went off onto the tangent about having “their land” back that “they have fought for — for — for decades,” adding: “As part of this hostages for prisoners exchange, we will see 2,000 Palestinians released from prison.”

This time, she conceded hundreds are “convicted murderers serving multiple life sentences” with only “some” going to Gaza, “some...to East Jerusalem,” and others “deported to third countries.”

“[A]bout 100 or so will be boarding busses shortly and will be sent into the West Bank, and you’ll be able to see them right behind me. Now, we’ve seen family members of those hostages trickle in to the city of Bethania, which is where I am, and they don’t know how long it’s going to take in the past. It’s taken in some cases, hours. And they were released in the middle of the night. In some cases it’s happened quite quickly,” she gushed.

She kept using that word “hostages,” but that definition is/was far different than what anyone in Israel or someone with basic decency would conceive compared to the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

With Jackson again trying to cut her off, this screed continued about those being released from jails earning the moniker “hostages”:

They are in some cases minors, doctors, nurses, journalists who have never been charged. It’s really important for people to remember that they’ve been held under what’s called administrative detention. It’s a controversial practice that allows Israel to detain people for an indefinite period of time without charging them. These people do not know why they have been detained and so, in the eyes of many Palestinians, you ask them, they consider those people held without charge also as hostages. And Palestinian officials will tell you that they believe Israel has been arresting them, arresting as many as they can to gather to amass as many bargaining chips as possible for these negotiations.

To see the relevant NBC transcript from October 13, click “expand.”

NBC News Special
October 13, 2025
1:23 a.m. Eastern

DANIELE HAMAMDJIAN: And as was the case in previous ceasefires, the IDF has warned family members do not celebrate the return of these prisoners. That warning in the past has been ignored. You know they are considered terrorists by Israelis. But you ask many Palestinians here, they will consider them freedom fighters. This is on the West Bank side. Over in Gaza, more than 1700 Gazans will be released. Now, who are they? They are minors. Up to 20 of 22 of them doctors, nurses, journalists who have never been charged. And it’s really important to emphasize here they’ve been held under a controversial practice called administrative detention. And they can be held for an indefinite period of time without ever being charged. These people are in prison without knowing why. I’m thinking specifically of one man, Abu Safiya, who is a doctor, a pediatrician who was arrested back in December. He was overseeing the Kamal Radwan hospital and well respected prominent doctor in Gaza, and has not been seen since. There have been calls all over the world for his release. Is he going to be released today? It doesn’t look like it. But in the many in the eyes of many Palestinians, they will tell you those people held without charge are also considered hostages by Palestinians.

(....)

1:35 a.m. Eastern

HALLIE JACKSON: Humanitarian aid. Part of this peace deal involves more aid getting into Gaza. And the United Nations is saying today that they have already seen a scale up in the aid getting to where it needs to go, as we’ve seen these images now of Palestinians returning to what what very little, if anything, is left of their homes. 

HAMAMDJIAN: You know, it’s hard to believe this day has finally come. Hallie I was just texting with a contact in Gaza and he said to me, I’m just standing in the middle of nothing. There is nothing left. And I’m reminded of words by a UN official months ago who said, there are no more words left in the vocabulary to describe the situation in Gaza. Remember that, you know, it was already in the first few weeks of the war, October 31st, 2023, I remember distinctly a UN official already describing Gaza as a graveyard for Palestinian children and here we are two years later, nearly 20,000 children dead and much needed aid. They have nothing to go back to, but they have their land. And for Palestinians, boy, that is what they have fought for — for — for decades. I myself right now am outside Ofer prison. This is the largest prison in the West Bank. As part of this hostages for prisoners exchange, we will see 2000 Palestinians released from prison. Who are they? Let’s start with right here, 250 security prisoners, convicted murderers serving multiple life sentences. Some of them will be sent to Gaza. Some of them will be deported to third countries. Some of them will go to East Jerusalem. But about 100 or so will be boarding busses shortly and will be sent into the West Bank, and you’ll be able to see them right behind me. Now, we’ve seen family members of those hostages trickle in to the city of Bethania, which is where I am, and they don’t know how long it’s going to take in the past. It’s taken in some cases, hours. And they were released in the middle of the night. In some cases it’s happened quite quickly. So it might be a very long day here. But over to Gaza, 1,700 Palestinians detained in Gaza will be released. They are in some cases minors, doctors, nurses, journalists who have never been charged. It’s really important for people to remember that they’ve been held under what’s called administrative detention. It’s a controversial practice that allows Israel to detain people for an indefinite period of time without charging them. These people do not know why they have been detained and so, in the eyes of many Palestinians, you ask them, they consider those people held without charge also as hostages. And Palestinian officials will tell you that they believe Israel has been arresting them, arresting as many as they can to gather to amass as many bargaining chips as possible for these negotiations.