As President Trump was on a victory lap through Israel and the region, celebrating his newly-brokered Gaza ceasefire agreement, several relatives of Israeli hostages received surprising video calls from an unknown number. A surreal scene unfolded on the other side of the line: after more than two years in captivity under harsh conditions, with little to no information on their fate, families were suddenly speaking to their loved ones directly. Still in Gaza, the hostages called from a captor’s phone, with a Hamas militant in a green headband and full face covering standing behind them — moments before release.

“I love you, I can’t wait to see you already!” cried one shocked mother. “Post this on social media, put this in the news,” the militant ordered in broken Hebrew.

Throughout the war, Hamas has perfected its propaganda into an artform. Flooding the zone with an army of Instagram influencers, a constellation of Telegram channels, and a blitz of high-resolution video productions, has become a signature of its war strategy. Gone were Al Qaedeque grainy, amateur-grade footage; in came ISIS-inspired live streaming of atrocities, drone-mounted HD cameras, and daily-updated databases.

A student of Russia, China, and Iran’s propaganda machines, Hamas has…