Rafah release Netanyahu uses hostage rescue to justify strikes as support dwindles
The Guardian Weekly|February 16, 2024
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was early this week deploying the successful rescue of two Israeli hostages to justify continued military pressure on Rafah, even as Israel came under intense international pressure not to launch a ground offensive against the southern Gaza city.
Peter Beaumont
Rafah release Netanyahu uses hostage rescue to justify strikes as support dwindles

In the immediate aftermath of the rescue, which took place in the early hours of Monday, Netanyahu said it demonstrated the need for continuing pressure on Hamas in order to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

Others, however, might have drawn different lessons from the raid, which stands as a grim metaphor for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

The Israeli military has rescued just three hostages in more than four months of fighting, fewer than the number of hostages who have been killed in Israeli efforts to free them. Instead, the vast majority of hostages who have been released have had their freedom secured in negotiations with Hamas, with more than 100 freed during a weeklong ceasefire last year. At least 30 more are confirmed to have died in captivity, with fears for the lives of upwards of 20 others.

At least 67 Palestinians were killed during the raid, according to the Gaza ministry of health, as Israeli aircraft bombarded the neighbourhood with bombs, and the high death toll will be seen as telling its own grim story in the ratio of dead to rescued. It also underlines the enormous risk to civilian life in the event of an Israeli offensive against Rafah.

Amos Harel, writing in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, suggested it was unlikely that Hamas would not learn from the rescue to ensure it was not repeated.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 16, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 16, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS THE GUARDIAN WEEKLYAlle anzeigen
FROM DOCTOR TO BRUTAL DICTATOR THE RISE AND FALL OF ASSAD
The Guardian Weekly

FROM DOCTOR TO BRUTAL DICTATOR THE RISE AND FALL OF ASSAD

0N THE FACE OF IT AT LEAST, the Bashar al-Assad of 2002 presented a starkly different figure from the brutal autocrat he would become, presiding over a fragile state founded on torture, imprisonment and industrial murder.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
What fresh alternatives can be used to placate coriander haters?
The Guardian Weekly

What fresh alternatives can be used to placate coriander haters?

Everyone knows a hater of coriander - also known as cilantro - who won't go near the stuff. Itamar Srulovich, however, is not one: \"I adore fresh coriander, and always have,\" says the chef/co-owner of the Honey & Co group in London.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
Farage is lying in wait.Britain cannot afford to see Starmer fail Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian Weekly

Farage is lying in wait.Britain cannot afford to see Starmer fail Jonathan Freedland

This government must not fail. Let's get that clear from the start. If Keir Starmer does not succeed, too many British voters will conclude that both the traditional parties, Labour and Conservative, have proved useless and that it is time to try something else with that something else being nationalist populism.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
Compromise may be Macron's only hope of restoring confidence Paul Taylor
The Guardian Weekly

Compromise may be Macron's only hope of restoring confidence Paul Taylor

Having failed to solve France's political crisis with a prime minister dependent on the far right, President Emmanuel Macron is exploring a deal with the Socialist party (PS) to give the country a new government, pass an overdue budget and avert financial turmoil.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
It's a sad story for us all that fewer children are reading for pleasure Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
The Guardian Weekly

It's a sad story for us all that fewer children are reading for pleasure Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

On the shelf in my son's bedroom is a row of picture books that once belonged to me.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
The Guardian Weekly

'Gun control is dead, and we killed it'

Blueprints for 3D-printed weapons are increasingly being used by far-right extremists to evade gun control laws. So what can be done?

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
Help support the victims of conflict in a volatile world
The Guardian Weekly

Help support the victims of conflict in a volatile world

When we came to choose the theme of our 2024 charity appeal, we quickly realised it would be impossible to ignore that this has been an especially harrowing year of conflict, war and human suffering.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
Ring master The Trump circus is already back in town
The Guardian Weekly

Ring master The Trump circus is already back in town

The grand reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris last Saturday was attended by around 50 heads of state and government.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
Object lessons Behind the scenes of a museum's grand reserves
The Guardian Weekly

Object lessons Behind the scenes of a museum's grand reserves

A tour of the newarchive collection of London's Science Museum andits associates reveals a cornucopia of wonders and treasures

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024
Double takes The rise of the celebrity lookalike competition
The Guardian Weekly

Double takes The rise of the celebrity lookalike competition

When Miles Mitchell's friends saw fliers scattered across New York City last month advertising a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition, they urged the 21-yearold college senior from Staten Island to enter.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 13, 2024