We must back Israel’s efforts to rescue hostages

In October last year, Noa Argamani became the face of the Nova music festival when footage of her kidnapping – pleading for her life from the back of a motorcycle – was shared around the world. Today, the image of her reunion with her family following a successful rescue operation is a timely reminder of what Israel is fighting for, and the fundamental justice of its cause.

Ms Argamani was rescued alongside three other hostages – Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomo Ziv – who were also taken captive by Hamas terrorists at the festival. They had been held by their captors for 245 days.

The operation to free them was “complex”, and an Israeli soldier was killed during the fighting. The ultimate success of the rescue in such difficult circumstances is a stunning triumph for the Israel Defense Forces, and a stinging rebuke to the country’s critics.

It is by force and force alone that the freedom of these hostages has been secured. Calls for a unilateral end to Israeli military operations even in the absence of the necessary dismantling of Hamas, and without the necessary release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, have been dispiritingly common. Had they been heeded, it is frighteningly plausible that these four people would never have been freed to rejoin their loved ones.

Israel’s dogged commitment to rescuing the hostages and destroying Hamas stand in marked contrast to the weakness of the West in supporting its efforts. All too often, the libels spread by Hamas have been allowed to pass effectively unchallenged, while Israel’s military operations have been subjected to a level of scrutiny that is all but impossible to satisfy.

Hamas has chosen to operate from a densely populated area, with its ununiformed fighters seeking to use civilians as human shields. Indeed, the organisation’s response to the rescue was to suggest that it could resort to further hostage-taking. Why would it not, when October 7 has been so well rewarded by a spectacular propaganda victory around the world, with multiple states choosing to recognise Palestine?

These declarations are premature, and may well work to delay the day when a lasting peace is found. There is little doubt that in the long run, a two-state solution is necessary. Multiple attempts have been made to obtain one. They have foundered, however, on the obstinacy of Palestinian elites who refuse to recognise Israel, and insist on pursuing their goals through terrorism.

Until this is changed, it is a terrible mistake for Western politicians – in Britain and elsewhere – to attempt to pre-empt this process by recognising a Palestinian state before the necessary negotiations have concluded. Indeed, it may work to push any true peace back into the distant future; here and now, each sliver of legitimacy is a triumph in miniature for Hamas, taken as proof that its tactics of violence and kidnapping will be rewarded by an indulgent West, and Israeli attempts at self-defence slapped down. This will only fuel further conflict.