Israel rescues four hostages in operation Gazan officials say killed more than 200

The Israeli military rescued four hostages in a special operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, that Gazan authorities said killed 210 people and injured more than 400 others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv, were rescued by the Israeli military, intelligence and special forces from two separate locations in Nuseirat, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday.

“They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for further medical examinations,” the IDF added.

An Israeli policeman from a special counter-terrorism unit was killed in Saturday’s rescue operation, according to Israeli police.

News of the rescue came soon after Israel’s military said it was operating in Nuseirat and other areas of central Gaza, where heavy shelling and artillery fire was reported.

At least 210 people have been killed as a result of the rescue operation and more than 400 injured, the government media office in Gaza claimed Saturday.

The killed and wounded are arriving at two hospitals in Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, the media office added.

CNN has no way of verifying casualty numbers reported by the government media office in Gaza. The media office does not differentiate between civilians and militants killed.

The aftermath of Israeli bombing in Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza Strip.
The aftermath of Israeli bombing in Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza Strip. Jehad Alshrafi/AP
An Israeli military spokesperson put the number of casualties from the operation at “under 100,” and had no information on how many of those were civilians.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces had to enter civilian areas to reach hostages as this was where Hamas had embedded itself.

He said the hostages had been locked in two separate apartments in civilian multi-story buildings about 200 meters (650 feet) apart, with Argamani held in a different building to the three males. He said the IDF had received intelligence on their location beforehand, noting that hostages in Gaza were frequently moved around and Argamani had previously been held elsewhere. Similar raids had been called off at the last minute “more than three or four times” due to unfavorable conditions, he added.

The first phase of Saturday’s operation saw the IDF target militant infrastructure with pre-planned strikes, Hagari said.

For the rescue, the IDF had opted for a daytime operation because of the element of surprise, he added, and it had prepared by building models of the apartments the hostages were held in.

Hagari added that the IDF had come under intense fire, especially after withdrawing from the apartments. The spokesperson did not provide evidence for his claims.

Saturday was an “emotional and happy day for the State of Israel and the IDF,” Hagari said, though he cautioned that most of the remaining hostages were not being held in conditions that would allow for similar operations.

Following Saturday’s announcement, the total number of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip from October 7 is now 116, of which at least 41 are dead.

On the ground in Gaza, locals described scenes of carnage following the strikes that led up to the operation.

Nidal Abdo, was shopping in Nuseirat on Saturday when he described a “crazy bombardment” hitting.

“There are children torn apart and scattered in the streets, they wiped out Nuseirat, it is hell on earth,” he said.

Another local, Abu Abdallah, said the strike hit while people were sleeping, adding: “Dogs were eating people’s remains. We pulled out six martyrs, all torn up children and women, we risked our lives to get them to the hospital.”

Hamas described the operation as a “brutal crime, devoid of the values of civilization and humanity,” saying the Israeli military “committed a horrific massacre against innocent civilians.”

Hamas said the rescue would not change Israel’s “strategic failure in the Gaza Strip,” as the group still holds a large number of other hostages after eight months of fighting. vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs vcs

In a separate statement, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said that the “resistance will continue.”

“Our people will not surrender, and the resistance will continue to defend our rights in the face of this criminal enemy,” Haniyeh said.

Hostage rescues are rare: this is only the third such successful operation. IDF Corporal Ori Megidish was rescued in October last year from the northern Gaza Strip. In another operation on February 12 this year, Fernando Marman and Louis Har were rescued from southern Rafah.

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