The Israelis needed this weekend.
The country’s defensive war with Hamas had entered a trying phase as progress against the terrorist group’s dug-in battalions in Rafah has stalled. The wartime unity cabinet that had governed Israel since the outbreak of war was coming apart. Its foreign allies — the United States, in particular — have leaned heavily on Jerusalem to adopt tactics aimed at reducing Palestinian civilian casualties, the effect of which was to boost the number of Israeli combat injuries and deaths. As attested by the spontaneous celebrations in Israeli streets, the daring raid that rescued four Israeli civilians from the captivity and torment they’d endured since the October 7 attacks came as welcome relief.
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