Rescuing hostages amid the Israel Defense Forces’ trial by media

Australia's relationship with Israel is unnecessarily strained [Source: Deposit Photos]

My article with Andrew Fox and Sascha Dov Bachmann in The Spectator Australia, Rescuing hostages amid the Israel Defence Forces’ trial by mediaRescuing hostages amid the Israel Defence Forces’ trial by media.

Over the weekend, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) pulled off a daring daylight raid to rescue four hostages held by Hamas from two different locations in Gaza. The hostages were held in civilian houses near a busy marketplace in Nuseirat in central Gaza.

From what we know, after freeing the hostages, an IDF extraction vehicle broke down and drew fire from dozens of Hamas fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.

The IDF returned fire using jets and helicopters, surged ground troops into the area, and cleared a safe extraction route. The result was four Israeli hostages from the Nova festival massacre were rescued, and one senior Israeli special forces officer was killed, along with a significant number of Hamas terrorists and Palestinian civilians, including women and children.

After Israel’s tactical success, civilian casualty figures in Gaza become the focus of the international media and the basis for condemnation.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

When it comes to Israel rescuing her hostages from the barbaric hands of Hamas, she has to do it with two hands tied behind her back. Not only does she have to contend with the rallying of ignorant activists for Hamas, but she must also do everything kosher and above board, under the microscopic scrutiny of a global media and journalists who seemingly loathe the very existence of the Jewish state, and will exploit any excess or slip-up against her. Sascha Bachmann, Michael de Percy and Andrew Fox make this point: ‘If Australian hostages were taken by a terrorist group, we would rightly expect the Australian Defence Force to do everything possible to bring the hostages home safe’. Why shouldn’t the IDF plan to do the same, and its commitment to keep collateral loss of life to a minimum be accepted and respected?