On Sunday, as the army indicated it would start limited withdrawals, Israel suggested Hadar Goldin was dead, possibly buried in a collapsed tunnel as Israel bombarded the area in which he was seized. His family said he was being left behind.

Israeli officials and media did not view Hamas’s operation dispassionately. Goldin was not “captured” but “kidnapped” – as though he was an innocent seized by opportunistic criminals.

Astoundingly, many western journalists followed Israel’s lead.