‘Joy, relief’ – and Hamas tactics on show

As news spread about the Israeli raid that rescued four of the more than 120 hostages still held by Hamas since their barbaric attacks of October 7, Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-CEO Alex Ryvchin held a media conference at which he spoke about “tears of joy in Jewish households” around Australia.

“Last night [Saturday], we heard the miraculous news of the rescue for hostages in a daring commando raid by Israeli Special Forces,” he said.

Expressing the community’s joy and relief at the rescue of Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv, after 245 days in captivity, Ryvchin said, “For so long, we’d hoped and prayed that they will be home and safe.”

Ryvchin said the location at which the hostages were rescued – Palestinian family homes – “says everything we need to know about Hamas’ tactics that are seeking to unleash maximum pain and devastation and loss and happiness when wrapped around people for their propaganda”.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler exclaimed, “We are immensely relieved by the safe return of Noa, Almog, Andrey and Shlomi.

“Their release is a testament to the relentless efforts of the IDF and the unwavering commitment to return all hostages to their families – a commitment underlined by the tragic loss of [Chief Inspector] Armon Zamora, [a counter-terrorism commander] who was killed during the operation.”

A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated, “We want to see all hostages released, civilians protected, and parties agree to the ceasefire proposal presented by [US] President [Joe] Biden.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said that “the courageous Israeli military operation which recently saved the lives of four Israeli hostages provides hope – a human triumph and reminder of the strength of the Jewish spirit”.

Liberal Senator Dave Sharma said, “I can’t imagine what they have been through – It was really heart-warming to see them reunited with their families.”

Meanwhile, Greens leader Adam Bandt repeated his call for Australian sanctions against Israel, stating, “All the political prisoners should be released, and I hope that the government will also make comments on the reported one-to-two hundred Palestinians who have been killed over this period as well.”