BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip: The Palestinian militants scrambled out of the tunnel and attacked an Israeli tank in broad daylight as gunfire and explosions echoed across the Gaza frontier.
This time it wasn’t the start of another war, but an action scene filmed for a TV series produced by the territory’s militant Hamas rulers.
The 30-episode series, titled “Fist of the Free,” presents the fighters as scrappy heroes outwitting a better-armed Israeli military. Unlike “Fauda,” the hit Israeli drama that deals with some of the same subject matter, it is unlikely to get picked up by Netflix.
It’s the latest such production by the media arm of Hamas, which has invested heavily in its offerings despite a crippling Israeli blockade on Gaza since the militant group seized power in 2007.
The shows are aired on Hamas-run TV, and “Fist of the Free” will debut during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, when viewership soars after the dawn-to-dusk fast and networks across the Muslim world debut big-budget offerings.
