Every morning over the past nine months we have woken in despair that the hostages are still being held in Gaza and in the hope that this morning will be the day we hear good news.
Saturday was that day - with the announcement that four Israelis who have been held for 245 days were rescued in a complex, daring IDF mission in the heart of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a mission that tragically resulted in the death of Chief Insp. Arnon Zmora, 36, an officer in the National Counter-Terrorism Unit.
From the beaches of Tel Aviv to the open squares of Athens, Israelis spontaneously broke out in cheers, applause, and cries of ‘Am Yisrael Chai.’ It was a rare day of unity.
The images and clips of Noa Argamani, Shlomo Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov walking to their freedom and being reunited with their loved ones was the magic elixir the country so desperately needed, as the Gaza war drags on with seemingly few results concerning the hostages except for some identification and retrieval of bodies.
For a brief respite from these past eight months of hell, we were able to unequivocally celebrate the walk to freedom of our sons and daughters.
Beacon of hope
Argamani, especially, has been one of the most high profile symbols of the war – with the video of her harrowing capture on October 7 and the tragic story of her cancer-stricken mother on everyone’s mind.
Her rescue, along with the other three, represent a glimmer of hope for the rest of the living hostages held by Hamas.
Not able to relish a victory for long, the pundits are already furiously debating what it means.Does the rescue operation justify the continued campaign in Rafah and indicate that more achievements are pending
Or, does it give Israel the ammunition now to make a deal to end the war and get those remaining hostages back?Both viewpoints will be presented as the only way to go.
There will be plenty of time to argue on Sunday. But for one day, a scorching pre-summer Shabbat, we could all agree on one thing: Am Yisrael Chai.