How Israel Pulled Off a High-Risk Hostage Rescue

[WiseElder]

Source: The Wall Street Journal

TEL AVIV—The searing midday sun afforded the Israeli commandos the element of surprise.

The daylight raid was an unusual tactic, and risky. The fear, Israeli military officials said, was that Hamas guards would kill the four hostages as soon as they detected the specialist Israeli counterterrorism teams approaching. But if they could pull it off, it would give Israel a big psychological boost in a war that has been turning into a quagmire while steadily isolating the country from the rest of the world.

At 11:25 a.m. local time on Saturday, the Israeli military’s Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was watching the situation from a command center of the Shin Bet security agency and gave the order to go.

The Israeli teams overwhelmed the captors hunkered down in two apartment blocks in Nuseirat, in the center of the Gaza Strip, Israel’s military later said. The teams came under fire as they left the buildings, leading to a street battle before the soldiers extracted the four hostages via helicopters on the beach.

One Israeli officer was fatally wounded. The Israeli military said about 100 Palestinians were killed or wounded, including Hamas militants and civilians caught in the crossfire.

For Palestinian civilians sheltering from the eight-month war in Gaza, it was another day of airstrikes, death and mourning. Residents in Nuseirat described it as one of the worst days of the war, saying they didn’t know what was happening as bombs rained down. Some also voiced anger at Hamas for holding hostages in residential buildings, endangering the whole area.

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Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-israel-pulled-off-a-high-risk-hostage-rescue/ar-BB1nS5k3

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"Some also voiced anger at Hamas for holding hostages in residential buildings, endangering the whole area."

[TomDaisy]

1. by killing a lot of innocent people

[orange jar]

2. Are you saying that the hostages shouldn't have been rescued?

n/t.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

4. That's exactly what he/she is saying. nt

[orange jar]

5. People seem to forget that the hostages are innocent people, too.

n/t.

[TomDaisy]

13. People seem to forget that killing children is a war crime no matter who does it

[orange jar]

14. I agree.

and while we're on the subject of war crimes, taking hostages also counts as a war crime: https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/hostages/#:~:text=International%20humanitarian%20law%20prohibits%20taking,3%3B%20GCIV%20Arts.

[TomDaisy]

16. Collective Punishment - also a war crime.

[Beastly Boy]

21. Indeed, the war crime of taking hostages is also the war crime of collective punishment.

[thucythucy]

30. Does deliberating slaughtering and/or raping

civilians at a music festival count as "collective punishment"?

Are actions like that a war crime?

[The Magistrate]

19. And, Once Again....

"Area radical passionate advocate for what he imagines the Geneva accords say."

[EX500rider]

42. It's a war crime if done on purpose, yes. Accidentally not so much

[MarineCombatEngineer]

3. And why was HAMAs holding hostages in a residential apartment?

That is a war crime and proves that HAMAs doesn't give a fuck about ordinary Gazans except their usefulness as propaganda against Israel.

[Mysterian]

6. Hamas holding hostages in a civilian area

is what killed innocent people.

[sarisataka]

8. Any chance you will acknowledge

Hamas firing RPGs into streets full of civilians led to some Palestinian casualties? Or is it all Israel's fault for rescuing hostages?

[wnylib]

9. Plus killing Hamas terrorists. Looks like

the Palestinians who were there have a better take on who is at fault than you expressed. They condemned Hamas for putting hostages in civilian settings. I heard a recording on NPR made by one of their producers who was there at the time, fleeing with the Palestinians. One Palestinian man said, "May God punish Hamas for bringing this upon us."

Hamas chose the battlefields intentionally so that Israel would either not go after them, or would be condemned by the world for doing so. You play right into their hands by blaming Israel, but the Palestinian civilians themselves know who is bringing the battlefield to their homes.

[mcar]

15. Yeah, Hamas shouldn't have opened fire

in a civilian area.

[Beastly Boy]

20. By killing a lot of Hamas terrorists.

[sarisataka]

23. In certain circles

"Hamas terrorist" and "innocent Palestinian" are not necessarily referring to different groups

[sarisataka]

7. It sounds like at least some of the Palestinian casualties

Were caused by Hamas firing on the fleeing Israelis. Not that anyone will care.

[Martin68]

11. "Sounds like?" That's a damned weak supposition. Sounds like a refugee camp suffered hundreds of deaths in

the operation.

[sarisataka]

12. Does Hamas have unique weapons

so when they fire into streets of Palestinians, their bullets and RPGs will only hit Israelis? If so, that is incredible.
If not it is a very strong supposition the many Palestinians were hit by "friendly fire"

[Martin68]

24. Well, we already know Israel has no such weapons, but they do have weapons that are 10,000 times more devastating than

those Hamas has. Can you imagine seeing Tel Aviv looking like Gaza right now? There never was a chance of that.

[sarisataka]

25. Not for lack of trying

Do you doubt if Hamas obtained better weapons they would hesitate for a second to direct them at civilian targets?

Yes, I can imagine what Tel Aviv would look like if Hamas had resources comparable to Israel. Something along the lines of Tokyo after the firebombing. Give Hamas a nuke and Tel Aviv will look like Hiroshima...

[atreides1]

28. Okay

If Iran had wanted Hamas to have better weapons they would have provided them. Hamas is a puppet for Iran, any better weapons could be easily traced back to Iran...what Hamas uses now, is manufactured by a lot of different countries...with the exception of their home made rockets!

Better weapons systems, would make Iran a primary target for the US as well as Israel..and at this point in time Iran doesn't want that kind of attention.

So Hamas will continue to fight with small arms, RPG's, and home mad rockets.

Just an opinion. Pax

[sarisataka]

29. Agreed

Iran sends rockets that have some plausible deniability. They are used by several Middle East countries so I ran can claim Hamas received them from another faction and Iran had no control over that.

If Hamas suddenly starts launching Khalibar or Shahab missiles, it will be pretty clear they could only have come directly from Iran.

[Martin68]

32. Which means the Israeli response is highly disproportionate.

Just an opinion. Pax.

[Beastly Boy]

34. What would be your idea of a proportionate response to abducting, raping and killing hostages?

Abduct, rape and kill Hamas terrorists?

[Martin68]

39. Carry out a ground operation to locate and exterminate Hamas. That would require the death of more Israeli soldiers, but

that is the price of fighting a terrorist enemy hiding within a civilian population. Israel took the easier option, bombing the entire population to hell.

[Beastly Boy]

40. How do you locate an estimated 15,000 militants hiding underground among civilians?

Are you going to check for their "I am a Hamas terrorist" tattoo in Hebrew on their foreheads while they are shooting at you?

You don't seem to understand the insanity of what you are proposing.

No, Israel didn't take the easier option. They took the option that doesn't involve suicidal stupidity.

[Martin68]

41. It is not insanity, it is anti-terrorism. It involves loss of life on both sides, But it is far better than bombing

rubber. THAT is insanity. Are Israeli soldiers afraid to fight door to door as armies have done so many times before?

[Beastly Boy]

47. What is your background in anti-terrorism?

And how do you suppose IDF freed the hostages without going door to door until they reached the doors the hostages were behind?

Are you remotely familiar with the subject you are commenting on?

BTW, I am sufficiently familiar with insanity to comment on it.

[EX500rider]

43. The IDF HAS been carrying out a ground operation to locate and exterminate Hamas.

They do use air & artillery support like all modern militaries would, esp the US

[Martin68]

31. My point is that the threat is an empty one. Hamas does not have the ability or power to eradicate Israel. Using that

an an excuse to reduce major portions of a heavily-populated, highly urbanized residential area to rubble just doesn't fly.

[Beastly Boy]

35. Let's see if you can take your premise to its logical conclusion.

1. Israel has the power to eradicate Gaza.
2. Israel had not eradicated Gaza.
3. Hamas doesn't have the power to eradicate Israel.
4. Hamas has the power to invade Israel, kill, rape, mutilate and abduct Israelis.
5. Hamas pledged to eradicate Israel, and used its power to invade Israel, kill, rape, mutilate and abduct Israelis.

Given Israel's power to eradicate Gaza, what would fly as a response to what Hamas has the power to do and has done?

[Martin68]

38. It sure looks to me like Israel has eradicated Gaza. Have you seen photos of the destruction? How many Israelis has

Hamas killed, raped, mutilated and abducted since their surprise attack? None. Who has the power. Israel. Who is in charge? Israel. Why threat does Human pose to Israel now? None. They are hiding like rats among the civilian population. Do you doubt that Netanyahu is intent on razing all of Gaza? How can you compare 1,000 deaths to 30,000? How can you compare the damage inflicted by a puny Hamas attack with the utter devastation on densely populated urban residential areas in Gaza?

Isn't it time for Israel to pull back, take stock and work on a solution with international partners? The main obstacle to peace is that Netanyahu has decided against a two-state solution and is actively encouraging more theft of Palestinian land by illegal "settlers." Bombing Gaza back into the Stone Age is an easier solution for him, and more likely to remove the Palestinian Problem and open up more land for Israel.

[Beastly Boy]

46. If Israel eradicated Gaza, who is holding the hostages? Who is shooting at Israeli soldiers?

Who is firing rockets at Israel? How does the Hamas ministry of health get to issue fake casualty numbers? And why is humanitarian aid for hundreds of thousands of civilians necessary if Gaza had been eradicated? And if Gaza had been eradicated, why the need to work a solution with international partners?

I don't think "eradicated" means what you think it means.

Since their surprise attack, Hamas killed, raped, mutilated and abducted an estimated 1200 Israeli civilians. Hamas has the power to hold civilians, including Americans, hostage, use civilians as human shields, kill Israeli soldiers and civilians, steal humanitarian aid, hide their military assets among civilians, violate international laws and cease-fire agreements, reject a two-state solution and invade Israel again should IDF pull back. I have doubts about Netanyahu's intent to raze all of Gaza: if it was his intent, Gaza would have been razed by November 2023. How can YOU compare 1000 deaths to 30,000? Is this a numbers game for you? Would you have been as outraged if the 6,000 Hamas rockets reached their intended destinations in Israel's civilian centers in the first weeks of the war? By what standards do you have the cojones to call a 5,000 strong invading army that killed 1200 civilians "puny"?

And how do you propose Israel, who had already worked out a solution with international partners, drag Hamas to the negotiating table? I would love to see that happen, but evidently Hamas has other ideas.

[sarisataka]

37. I do not view it as empty nor

Do I believe Jews of Israel take it casually either.

It may be a long process but if Israel is nit allowed to defend itself (as some claim) Hamas can eliminate Israel, rape by rape, murder by murder, one rocket at a time.

Hamas released their Genocidal goals back in 1988. The current Gaza campaign began October 8th. I don't think the Covenant is being used as an excuse. Perhaps something else started this.

[Martin68]

10. The WSJ. MAGA mouthpiece.

[LeftInTX]

49. The WaPo had a similar article. Are they also a MAGA mouthpiece?

The soldiers were able to get the three hostages and the injured man into a vehicle, but it broke down under Hamas fire from rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, officials said. At one point, Avivi said, they were forced to abandon the vehicle and seek refuge in a building nearby.

The commanders called for air support.

“The air force started shooting to give them a corridor, a wall of fire,” said retired Maj. Gen. David Tsur, a former Yamam commander.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/09/israel-gaza-hostages-rescue-raid/

[Aussie105]

17. In an ideal world . . .

HAMAS fighters would all wear armbands with a 'H' on it.

Other Palestinians would wear arm bands with 'N', for non-combatants, on it.

HAMAS would set up headquarters in a large open field, with separate buildings for weapon stores, another for HAMAS sleeping quarters (lights out at 10 pm), another for the hostages.
(All buildings marked for easy identification from the air of course.)

In the real world though, HAMAS is deeply ingrained in the Palestinian population.
They are the product, arising out of the general population, from the treatment they have received from Israel since 1947.
They live in the same buildings, eat the same food, etc.

It's called urban warfare.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

18. I'm going to follow Benny Ganz's next move.

He gave Netanyahu ample time to respond to October 7th. But most scholars believe, like Ganz, he made it impossible to have victory.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/why-the-departure-of-israeli-war-cabinet-member-benny-gantz-does-and-doesn-t-matter/ar-BB1nUI64

[Bayard]

22. Its great that 4 hostages were rescued

But the count now, per another thread, is that the 100 civilians killed is now close to 1,000 dead or wounded. Yes, those four hostages lives mattered, but so did the thousand Palestinians.

[RandySF]

27. This isn't Hollywood.

There’s no Black Widow who can sneak in and out unnoticed with four Jewish hostages in a crowded civilian setting.

[thucythucy]

33. I agree. But I'm curious to know:

what would you suggest as an alternative, given the current situation?

If the IDF learns there are hostages being held in a particular location, and that location is embedded in a civilian area, should they simply do nothing? If not, what other option would you suggest?

In roughly two weeks of urban warfare, in Berlin in April 1945, roughly a quarter of a million German civilians were killed as the Soviets fought to take the city and end WWII. A horrific loss of life, but what was the alternative? Truly, I'd love to know.

We have just "celebrated"--and what an odd word that is in this context--the Normandy invasion of June 6. I've read that more French civilians died that day than Allied soldiers. The majority--probably the vast majority--were killed by the Allied bombing and naval bombardment. The majority--perhaps the vast majority--were women, children, and the elderly, since the Germans had conscripted many of the able-bodied men to do war work in other areas. Here too: what would you have done differently to minimize those deaths?

Every innocent life lost is an incalculable loss, an unending tragedy. Every person injured, indeed every witness to the carnage must bear that trauma for the rest of their lives.

Which is why those who start wars need always to consider the consequences.

[EX500rider]

44. Almost 20,000 French civilians were killed in the lead up to D-day

Last edited Mon Jun 10, 2024, 10:45 PM - Edit history (1)

[LeftInTX]

50. The Washington Post is still saying 274...Hamas tried to kill the hostages after they had been rescued.

Last edited Tue Jun 11, 2024, 03:15 AM - Edit history (1)

Hamas was firing rocket propelled grenades. Israel had no choice to do some aggressive shooting to wall off Hamas from the hostages.

I'm sure some died from Hamas' RPGs. Hamas explicitly states that they consider friendly fire to be "Israel's fault", even if it isn't.

[RandySF]

26. Good work.

[rollin74]

36. K & R Excellent news

glad the hostages were successfully rescued

shame on Hamas for, once again, hiding behind civilians

[Aussie105]

45. So now we have a value equivalence of human lives.

4 Israeli lives are worth the same as 100+ Palestinian lives.

Duly noted.

[RandySF]

51. Too many act as if Israeli lives aren't worth shit.

Should Israel just leave hostages in captivity?

[Aussie105]

52. Too many act as if Palestinian lives aren't worth shit.

Fixed it for you.

[SoFlaBro]

48. If Israelis feel about Oct 7th how I felt about 9/11, then every Hamas shitbag should be neutralized according to them.

[EX500rider]

53. Israeli agents went in undercover disguised as Gazan's

Some of the Israeli special forces that entered the Nuseirat camp in Gaza on Saturday to conduct a large-scale operation to free four hostages posed as displaced Gazans or as Hamas fighters, according to eyewitnesses quoted in Arab media outlets.

The Saudi-owned Asharq news channel quoted local residents saying that a special forces unit, including women, entered the camp in disguise, driving in a white car loaded with mattresses. They said the women were dressed in clothes “that women are wearing here in the war.”

According to the report, the special forces introduced themselves to local residents as Palestinians escaping the Israel Defense Forces operation in Rafah, and said they had rented a place in the area around the market in Nuseirat, while pointing at the building where hostage Noa Argamani was being held. The three male hostages who were also rescued in the operation — Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv and Almog Meir Jan — were being detained in another building 200 meters away.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/special-forces-said-to-have-posed-as-gazan-civilians-hamas-fighters-to-near-hostages/