Daring hostage rescue
"The instant the hostages are released and Hamas surrenders, the war will end," says Alon Cassuto.
Elation and relief spread through Israel and the Jewish world this week with the rescue of two hostages from Gaza, after IDF special forces plucked the pair to safety from their Hamas captors in the southern city of Rafah, where hundreds of hostages are believed to be held in tunnels.
Fernando Marman, 61, and Louis Har, 70, from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, were among 253 hostages abducted on October 7 in Hamas attacks which saw some 1200 people murdered.
The IDF’s second successful hostage rescue, and the first since late October, was pulled off as Israeli forces extended their operations into Rafah amid opposition from around the world, including Australia.
Speaking on 2GB Sydney radio on Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasised Rafah was a civilian corridor for Gazans. “This is a place where people who have been displaced from their homes, often because their homes don’t exist anymore, have been told to go to be safe. I unequivocally oppose the terrorist acts that occurred on October 7, but we cannot have disregard for innocent life and I’m very concerned at the consequences for those civilians.”
Urging Israel to “listen to its friends and the international community”, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, “Many civilians who were displaced in Israeli operations in the north have moved south to this area, often under Israeli direction.”
However, Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin stated, “The military operation in Rafah is clearly essential to destroy the final Hamas battalions, end this war and to get to both the terror leaders and the 135 hostages they are holding.
“To limit civilian hardship, Israel has given up any element of surprise by telegraphing exactly where its forces are going to strike. But this also allows Hamas to set its ambushes, and forcibly place civilians in harm’s way.
“We fear the price for this will be paid in the lives of civilians and the brave Israeli soldiers fighting the greatest evil of our time.”
Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto said the rescue showed the value Israel places on human life “and reminds us all that the instant the hostages are released and Hamas surrenders, the war will end”.
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