For months, Israelis had heard only about hostages being killed or declared dead in Gaza. The “lucky” families are those whose loved ones’ remains were recovered by soldiers at great risk and brought back to Israel for burial.
So Saturday’s daring rescue of four hostages immediately boosted Israeli morale and provided at least a temporary victory for the country’s embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But by Sunday, the joy had given way to a grimmer reality. Heavy air and ground attacks accompanying the rescue operation have killed dozens of Palestinians, including civilians, according to Gaza health officials, refuting Israeli claims that the operation has been a huge success, at least internationally. Analysts said the operation failed to resolve any of the deep dilemmas and challenges plaguing the Israeli government.
Eight months into the brutal war in Gaza, Israel still appears far from achieving its stated goal of dismantling Hamas’s military and governance capabilities. Israelis fear time is running out for the many hostages in Gaza. About one-third of the remaining 120 people have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, Israel’s leadership is grappling with an escalation of hostilities on Lebanon’s northern border and growing international isolation and condemnation of the war in Gaza, including genocide charges pending before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Nahum Barnea, a prominent Israeli political columnist, wrote in the popular Izvestia newspaper on Sunday that the rescue mission “does not solve the problems that Israel has been facing since October 7.”
“It doesn’t solve the problems in the north; it doesn’t solve the problems in Gaza; it doesn’t solve a host of other problems that threaten Israel on the international stage,” he added.
The stability of Mr Netanyahu’s government hangs in the balance.
The Israeli government is under increasing pressure to reach a deal with Hamas to release all remaining hostages. But the fate of Israel’s proposed truce and proposed hostage and prisoner exchanges, as President Biden outlined more than a week ago, remains uncertain. The Biden administration and Israeli officials said they were still awaiting a formal response from Hamas to determine whether talks could resume.
Israelis are now debating whether a hostage rescue operation would help or hinder the prospects of such a deal – which, if it goes ahead, could threaten the power of Mr Netanyahu and those in his ruling coalition The far right has vowed to quit and overthrow his government.
The rescue of the four hostages could bolster arguments by some that it is necessary for Israel to put military pressure on Hamas and continue a ground operation in Gaza to bring the remaining hostages home.
But for many Israelis and relatives of dozens of hostages, the return of just four hostages made clear the obvious: Such a complex military operation would likely save only a few of them and would impose huge consequences on the military. risks of.
The Israeli news media paid little attention to the high death toll reported by Gaza officials as a result of the rescue operations. Neither the Israeli military nor Palestinian health officials provided details of the civilians or combatants killed in the attack.
The military’s chief spokesman, Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari, made clear the limits of what the military could do during a briefing with reporters on Saturday, saying of the remaining hostages: “We know we can’t Action was taken to rescue all hostages. The largest number of hostages (more than 100) had been released under the previous temporary ceasefire agreement and the hostage and prisoner exchange agreement in November.
The operation also highlighted Israel’s dilemma: without ground troops, the military would be unable to conduct any such rescue operations or continue to dismantle Hamas’s capabilities. But any progress by Hamas on the hostage deal is conditional on Israel committing to a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal from Gaza.
For Hamas, which lost its remaining four chips on Saturday, Israel’s deadly operation could strengthen its position. The group suggested the rescue operation could make things worse for the remaining captives.
“This operation will pose a great danger to enemy prisoners and have a negative impact on their conditions and lives,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for the group’s military wing, said in a statement on Saturday.
Experts say some of the remaining hostages may now be moved from civilian apartment buildings, such as the homes of the four people rescued on Saturday, into harsher underground tunnels where they will be difficult to reach.
Avi Kallo, an Israeli reserve lieutenant colonel and former head of military intelligence, said “Hamas will try to learn lessons from this operation” and take more precautions to ensure that hostages are inaccessible.
“This is not a turning point for Hamas,” he said, adding that the group still held a large number of hostages. “Reducing four doesn’t change reality dramatically,” he added.
Some Israelis compared Saturday’s high-stakes operation to the legendary Entebbe raid nearly 50 years ago, when Israeli commandos freed more than a hundred hostages, most of whom were held in Uganda by pro-Palestinian plane hijackers. Israeli hostages. Mr Netanyahu’s brother Yonatan, the commander of the raid, was killed in the line of duty.
On Sunday, Netanyahu himself sought to connect the two, announcing that just as the Entebbe attack was retroactively named “Operation Yonatan” in honor of his brother, the government had approved the military’s proposal to move Saturday’s attack was named “Operation Anon” in honor of Anon Zamora, an Israeli police commando who was killed in crossfire while on duty in Gaza.
Many Israelis have accused Netanyahu of trying to take advantage of the rescue operation, rushing to greet the freed hostages at a hospital near Tel Aviv where they were recuperating and reunited with their families. decline.
His office subsequently released a trove of photos and film footage from the hospital, where Netanyahu also issued a public statement, breaking with the government’s practice of avoiding events on the Jewish Sabbath.
Relatives of the hostages who have yet to return say they have not received any such personal attention from the prime minister. Avi Marciano’s daughter Noa, a soldier, was kidnapped and killed in Gaza on October 7. The post said that in the six months since her death was announced, “the Prime Minister has not come. He has not called.
One bellwether for the evolution of government policy, or lack thereof, is the upcoming decision by Benny Gantz, the former military chief and Netanyahu’s main political rival, whether to withdraw his centrist National Unity party from the emergency war effort government.
Shortly after October 7, Gantz joined the government out of a sense of national responsibility and became an important member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Three weeks ago, he issued an ultimatum that he would quit the government by June 8 unless Mr. Netanyahu laid out a clear strategic path forward, including on how to free the remaining hostages in Gaza and how to govern after the war. Decisions and plans.
Gantz was scheduled to address the nation on Saturday night, but delayed his highly anticipated statement by 24 hours because of the hostage rescue incident. His party’s departure would not immediately lead to the collapse of the government; Mr Netanyahu and his remaining partners will still hold a majority in parliament.
But it would send a clear signal: Even after Saturday’s dramatic attack, not much has changed.
