MEZIESBLOG

Of all the images on 7 October, among the most harrowing were of Noa Argamani being dragged into captivity by gun toting thugs on the back of a motorbike, her face wrought with anguish, her boyfriend led away helpless by other armed men.

Her rescue is hugely cathartic for Israelis, offering hope that their military, despite all its setbacks, can perhaps save more.

Her boyfriend remains unaccounted for, but Noa’s apparent good health and that of the other liberated Israelis is reassuring too, though we cannot be sure what mental or other unseen trauma remains from their ordeal.

The rescue is some relief for Israelis after months of unremittingly bad news out of Gaza. 

But, it may make the chances of more being released through negotiations less likely. 

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under unrelenting pressure to be more willing to a ceasefire deal that would bring more hostages home.

That pressure will have been redoubled tonight had his war cabinet partner and political rival Benny Gantz resigned as threatened over the lack of a day after strategy for Gaza. He’s decided for now to postpone that move.

But Netanyahu is still infuriating the US government.

President Biden last week said he had every reason to believe that the Israeli prime minster was prolonging the war to save his political skin. Quite the damning indictment from Israel’s closest ally.

He is under pressure to make a ceasefire happen. The diplomacy towards that end has failed for several reasons. Hamas has been unyielding in the conditions it has set for agreement.

Israel believes that military pressure is the best way of breaking their enemy. And Netanyahu’s far right coalition partners oppose such a deal.

They want the campaign to continue until Hamas is completely destroyed, and many among them also fantasize about the resettlement of Gaza by Israel.

A ceasefire deal could see Netanyahu’s governing coalition fall apart. He has wanted to avoid that at all costs. Now that military efforts to rescue the hostages appear to be paying off, he may have less reason to pursue the diplomatic alternative.