It has  been more than 245 days since Israel  has been at  war  with  Hamas after  their  inglorious kidnapping of  more than 200 revellers  at the  Nova Music festival. It’s another matter that thereafter Gaza, Rafah and other occupied parts of the West Bank are scourged and  have more graveyards than  homes. How many of us actually watch or hear stories from that war zone anymore? So, when I ruefully say that the phrase, "war on Gaza" has become trite and boring I am not far away from the truth. We forget that the war is not over yet and hence cannot be relegated to history.  

For Israel’s Prime Minister, Netanyahu, it is business as usual, dabbling with politics over terror and pain, making full use of the ongoing strife, and stealing moments of self-aggrandizement. Recently, this is what he did.

He rushed to Sheba Hospital on June 9th to have his picture taken with four hostages rescued in an audacious operation, while he completely forgot to meet and take pictures with the families of hostages declared dead a week before. Image building thereafter was left to his ubiquitous supporters, who instantly utilized the rescue operation to tarnish their leader’s rivals in Israel and hail their leader. Notwithstanding, the covert operation wasn't just any other event; it brought back four live hostages to their families after 245 days. The combination of intelligence, extraordinary planning, and coordinated execution was a classic example of Israel’s military, intelligence, and security capabilities that are inspiring and praiseworthy. But questions remain whether this rescue was truly an Entebbe-style mission since roughly 120 hostages still remain in captivity in Gaza. According to Israeli sources, about 43 people have already been declared dead. The actual number of deceased is perhaps assumed to be much higher than the official figure.

To put things in context, in January 2024, the former Israeli war cabinet Minister and Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisenkot, in a televised interview to the Israeli Hebrew press, “Israel from the Inside,” stated that there was no chance of an ‘Entebbe Style’ rescue of hostages possible because they are all scattered and underground. Gadi Eisenkot lost his son and nephew in this war, and this is perhaps the main reason Israelis have faith in the war cabinet. (Israeli Hebrew press, “Israel from the Inside”). It’s another matter that Prime Minister Netanyahu recently dissolved the war cabinet. However, after news of the successful rescue of four hostages a week ago came to light, supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu instantly posted a clip of Gadi Eisenkot’s interview to “Israel from the Inside” ridiculing his assumptions. The former Minister never said that it would be impossible to save any of the hostages. His assessment was that while some hostages could be rescued by special operations, they can be released in their entirety as a part of a deal with Hamas. And he is not wrong if we count the hostages rescued or released so far.

That number stands at barely seven in special operations, but 109 in deals with Hamas, so the former Minister was not wrong when he suggested to the Prime Minister to engage and negotiate a deal with Hamas to get the hostages released. Netanyahu, on the other hand, has completely ruled out negotiating any deal with Hamas. He has also yet to meet many families whose members continue to remain in the custody of Hamas since their capture. Perhaps Netanyahu only takes credit and responsibility for success stories.

So far, all hostages who have returned appear relatively in good health, considering that Hamas is a dreaded terrorist organization. This should be incentive enough to engage and work out ways to bring back those who are still alive before it is too late.

The Writer, Rajiv Chavan, is a Senior Advocate & Former President of Advocates Association of Western India (2013-2015 & 2015-2018)