The release of observer Uri Magidish was one moment of light in the darkness of the tough war forced on Israel.
The feeling is that for the first time since October 7, daring and creativity have returned to the Israeli side. The fact that her release was announced a few hours after another video produced by Hamas featuring three of the abductees certainly helped the collective joy, and certainly intensified the private joy of the Magidish family, which can now breathe a sigh of relief.
The operation itself was breathtaking. It is customary to say this too easily about many promotions, but in this case it was. The details are forbidden to be published and may never be known, but the flowers in this case go to the operatives in the Shin Bet, who exploited precise intelligence for a successful surgical operation deep inside Hamas territory.
Commander of the Southern Command assessing the situation with the forces on the ground, photo: IDF Spokesperson
Gaza during the war, photo: AP
Expansion of IDF ground operations in the Gaza Strip,
The IDF was a partner in the operation, which was supervised in real time by the head of the Shin Bet and the chief of staff due to its great sensitivity and the fear that it would lead to complications.
Magidish was brought to Israel yesterday morning, examined, and then met with her family. It is likely that the IDF will question her in order to understand what she went through in captivity from the moment she was abducted from the Nahal Oz post on the morning of the Simchat Torah attack, and mainly in order to learn new details.
It can be assumed that Israel was debating whether to publish that Magidish had been released. It is possible that the operation will cause Hamas to motivate the abductees, which will yield additional intelligence about them. On the other hand, the organization will work to increase security around them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the Ashdod naval base, photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO
The monster must be killed. Israeli Air Force bombings in Gaza, yesterday, Photo: AFP
The ground operation: slowly, but surely, Photo: IDF Spokesperson
At the same time, Israel hopes that the ground operation will enable additional opportunities relating to the abductees. This is true at the tactical level: friction with the field yields intelligence and operational opportunities. This is also strategically true: if Hamas feels that its power centers in Gaza City are in danger, it may trade abductees to ease the military pressure on it.
Towards a dilemma
The operation itself continued yesterday, although Israel may soon face a significant dilemma. Although the political-security leadership declared that the goal was to defeat Hamas' military wing and deny its governmental capability, internal discussions expressed assessments that it would take many months to achieve these goals.
Various sources warned that during this period Israel would lose international legitimacy to act, and wondered whether the Israeli economy would withstand the burden of the war, especially when it was necessary at the same time to maintain high alert on the northern border as well.
If Israel decides not to do so, a possible alternative is to act in a limited manner and continue the campaign using various methods that will not require continuous stay deep inside Palestinian territory. Such a move would indeed reduce the international and economic pressure on Israel, but it is doubtful whether it will achieve the goals of the war, and it will certainly not neutralize the threat from the north and will not allow progress in the process of rehabilitating the communities near the Gaza Strip.
In the meantime, the IDF continues its ground operation. The achievements he will accumulate – in killing terrorists, destroying infrastructure, releasing hostages – will mark the future of the road no less than external pressures. Assuming that the northern front does not ignite, the pressure on Hamas will increase. Hopefully, this will lead to the imminent return home of more abductees.
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