Noa
Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Shlomi Ziv, 41, and Andrey Kozlov,
27, were rescued in two separate locations in a complex special daytime
operation in the heart of Nuseirat in central Gaza.
The rescue operation of four Israeli
hostages from the Gaza Strip on Saturday is an intelligence and
operational achievement of the highest order, the complexity of which is
hard to describe. The moments of jubilation and joy are understandable
and justified. However, we must remember that we cannot rely on such
operations and successes as the only or primary way to release the
remaining 120 hostages, both living and deceased.
The complexity of such a rescue
operation includes dozens of intelligence and operational components.
It's enough for just one of them to not work perfectly for the entire
operation to fail.
The intelligence required for such an
operation is not based on general information but must reach maximum
resolution, such as The exact building, apartment, and room; who is in
the apartment; how many guards; the weapons they have; nearby buildings,
enemy forces in the immediate and peripheral perimeter; and dozens of
other details. All intelligence components require real-time
verification up until the order is given.
A rescue helicopter carrying three of the Israeli hostages seen taking off from the Gaza Strip.
Andrey Kozlov (C), 27, one of the four Israeli hostages who were
kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival on 7 October, arrives by
a helicopter at the Sheba Medical center in Ramat Gan.
Released hostage Almog Meir Jan reacts after emerging from rescue helicopter
Operational complexities
The ability to convert intelligence
into operational capability, under difficult conditions and especially
in daylight, is not a given. Few units are capable of carrying out such a
mission with complete success. This is the art of several special units
in the IDF, Yamam, and Shin Bet. Therefore, the preparation for such an
operation takes many days, sometimes even weeks and months.
Until they know how to present all contingencies and responses and
demonstrate "risk management and minimization," the forces will not
receive approval to launch the operation.
For illustrative purposes, and
without compromising information security, I'll mention some of the
operational complexities: the ability to create surprise in daylight,
the ability to reach the specific room where the hostages are held in
zero time, in a way that prevents the guards from killing the hostages.
We're talking about seconds and fractions of seconds. The ability to
create an operational space that isolates resistance and intervention
from surrounding forces. The ability to evacuate the freed hostages
unharmed under fire and then evacuate all involved forces. In many ways
(except for the flight component), the complexity of this operation is
even higher than the heroic Entebbe operation in 1976.
Noa
Argamani was seen in
shocking footage begging for her life, as video showed her sitting on
the back of a Hamas motorcycle being driven to Gaza
Noa was seen in a video shared by Hamas after the kidnapping
Rescued hostage Noa Argamani is seen reunited with her father, June 8, 2024
A salute is due to many in the
system, led by the IDF chief of staff, the head of the Shin Bet, the
head of Military Intelligence Aharon Haliva, Major General (res.) Nitzan
Alon, the commander of the Yamam, the commander of the Israeli Air
Force, and the commanders of the executing units. Appreciation is due to
those who approved the operation– the prime minister and the minister
of defense.
Time to come to our senses
But here I want to move from the
momentary and important euphoria to the magnitude of the challenge
before us and the depth of the strategic failure we are in. I hope that
the state's leaders will not use this uplifting moment to shore up their
own political image by ignoring the depth of the crisis and the risk to
the remaining hostages and Israel's security in general.
Such operations will not return all
the hostages, even though every intelligence and operational opportunity
should continue to be pursued. Without a deal, without leverage,
without leadership courage, without vision, and with political
foresight, we will not succeed in rescuing the rest of the hostages.
The refusal to introduce an
alternative civilian control to Hamas perpetuates the rule of the
terrorist organization in the strip. Blatant disregard for a
political-strategic outlook misses an additional pressure lever and
distances us from the world's nations to the point of a highly dangerous
international isolation. The fear of making tough decisions due to
coalition constraints could lead us to total failure.
It's time to come to our senses and move from a political strategy to a security-diplomatic strategy.
No comments:
Post a Comment