The IDF has cultivated – and Israelis have willingly absorbed – the image of an impenetrable military force brimming with daring commandos and career soldiers who munch on glass for breakfast and never falter on the battlefield. October 7 told a different story.
The stakes in an extended truce: more hostages freed, Israel can prepare ‘surprises’ for Hamas, which itself gains supplies, as Israel’s allies press civilian needs.
For each hostage, Israel has agreed to return three Palestinian prisoners, in a deal that has also seen a pause in fighting and allowed fuel, cooking gas and aid into Gaza.
A four-year-old orphan whose parents were murdered on October 7 is among 13 Israeli captives freed today, as footage captures their reunions with loved ones | WATCH
The exchange of the release of seventeen hostages with the return of thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners was the second swap made under a four-day pause in fighting, with a third set to commence.
Israel Defence Forces post celebrates the moment ‘loved ones’ – a two-year-old among them – crossed the border from Gaza, ending 49 days’ captivity by Hamas.
With a second hostages for prisoners swap due early on Sunday AEDT, a leader of the Israeli hostages’ families, Yoni Asher, says ‘I will not celebrate until the last of the hostages returns home’.
As news of a deal to release those taken on October 7 takes shape, three family members speak about the anguish of limbo over the past six weeks.
Warfare of this kind – along a network reaching up to 500km in length – hasn’t been encountered by an army since Vietnam.
Israel says it’s willing to allow an unlimited number of trucks to enter Gaza each day, but capacity constraints with the UN agency overseeing Palestinian relief efforts is the problem.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/yoni-bashan/page/32