The terrorist group currently ruling Gaza have opened up a new front in their war against Israel, but this time the battlefield is TV.
As part of the propaganda efforts against the Jewish state, the media wing of Hamas has produced a 30 episode TV show called “Fist of the Free."
Shot on basic sets near the Israeli border, the show features a gang of Hamas fighters cannily outwitting the technologically superior IDF. Plotlines include the fictionalising of a real-life botched 2018 Israeli raid on Gaza where the show depicts Hamas fighters beating back the Israeli soldiers and winning a major victory.
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Palestinian actors and crew shoot a scene of the series by local Al-Aqsa TV "Qabdat al-Ahrar," meaning "Fist of the Free" in Arabic, in Gaza city (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
The show's crew have built replicas of Israeli army offices featuring Israeli flags and even a portrait of Theodor Herzl within Gaza as well as casting actors who've never set foot in Israel to play IDF soldiers.
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A portrait of Theodor Hertzl hangs on the set as Palestinian actors and crew shoot a scene of "Qabdat al-Ahrar," meaning "Fist of the Free" in Arabic, a series by local Al-Aqsa TV, in Gaza city. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
The assistant director of Fist of the Free told the AFP that he rejects any comparison to Fauda but admitted he had watched it, saying: “The idea of our films and series centers on our struggle with the enemy... We are not responding to them in their Fauda program."
With limited technology and budget, the crew of the Al-Aqsa TV production had to use unorthodox methods to secure shots. Instead of cranes and rigs to capture footage from above, small drones and cameramen sitting on crewmembers' shoulders were used.
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Palestinian actors and crew shoot a scene of the series by local Al-Aqsa TV "Qabdat al-Ahrar," meaning "Fist of the Free" in Arabic, in Gaza city. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
The show will be broadcast in Gaza by the Al-Aqsa network over the month of Ramadan, a high-profile slot for TV stations in Islamic countries as viewership spikes during the fast.
The rights to broadcast Fist of the Free have been offered by Hamas to broadcasters in Syria, Lebanon, Algeria and Turkey but it is not known if it will be shown in these countries.
Rubbishing the idea of the show appearing on Netflix, assistant director Sadi al-Attar told the AFP he would not meet with the streaming giant as "they are biased towards the occupation."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the frontier, Fauda season 4 is set to debut later this year. The 10-episode season will take cast members to filming locations in Ukraine and throughout Israel and see the team battle to contain threats from Lebanon and the West Bank.
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Pictured: Fauda co-creator and actor Lior Raz
New recruits will include The Crown actor Amir Boutrous - who plays Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser in the drama series - and Lucifer actress Inbar Lavi.
