(((Matthew)))

Here is what we know about the hostage rescue operation so far: the hostages were held in two separate buildings a few hundred meters from each other in the Nuseirath refugee camp. Noa was in one building on the first floor. Andrei, Shlomi, and Almog are on the third in the other building. They were placed among Gazan families, who served as human shields. The rescue was conducted by a combined force of the 7th "Saar me-Golan" Armored Brigade (who provided cover and cleared the perimeter), the 35th "Paratroopers" Brigade, the 900th "Kfir" Brigade, and the elite police YAMAM commandos. The two apartments were located using very well-sourced human intelligence assets. The rescue targeted both buildings simultaneously since the action in one would trigger an evacuation of the other. Indeed, Hamas had moved them around often. The rescue of Noa was relatively smooth. But the apartment with the three men turned more complicated. It was there that the hero, Arnon Zemora, was killed when Hamas identified the rescue force, and they opened fire. The IDF says he was killed because he "marched at the head of the force." Once the three were rescued, the vehicle in which they were transported out came under intense fire from terrorists. Ugda 98 forces came to their rescue, covered by assault helicopters. The vast majority of Palestinian casualties came in this battle and are not civilians, as some have reported. The IDF has called this "one of the most complex operations it has ever pursued." To practice getting to the targets without giving the terrorists a chance to fire, they built models of the apartments and nearby streets. A similar procedure was used in the Entebbe rescue. Sometimes, the old-school ways are the best ways. The IDF also noted that military intelligence and the Shin Bet provided the highest level of intelligence, which made the difference since "there is a hair's breadth of difference between failure and success in this operation." After all, one false move could kill the hostages.

I’ve talked to several sources in the IDF. They are amazed at the level of cooperation and help we have received from the USA and our Arab strategic partners. They have saved Israel from a strategic disaster. We are not alone and our survival depends, among other things, on maintaining our alliances.