Israel rescues four hostages in operation Palestinian officials say killed more than 200 people
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.
All four were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7.
“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, the Government Media Office in Gaza said 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 is not able to independently verify the media office numbers.
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 “heinous crime” in a press release Saturday, saying the Israeli military “committed a horrific massacre against innocent civilians.”
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.
One of the group, 25-year-old Noa Argamani, became one of the symbols of the October 7 attacks, after video emerged of her seen shouting and pleading from the seat of a motorbike as a group of Hamas fighters drive away with her in tow.
In the video, Argamani’s boyfriend, fellow Israeli citizen Avinatan Or, is also led away and kidnapped by Hamas fighters.
Noa’s mother Liora Argamani is a Chinese citizen who has been grappling with late stage brain cancer. In a video released last November, she made a desperate plea to be able to see her daughter one more time.
“I don’t know how long I have left. I wish for the chance to see my Noa at home,” her mother said, calling on US President Joe Biden to push for her daughter’s release.
Argamani’s family had previously received signs that she was still alive. She appeared in a series of Hamas propaganda videos released in January this year.
Video showed Argamani embracing her father after her release. She also held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who told her “we didn’t give up on you for a moment.”
Of the others freed:
– Almog Meir Jan, 22, is from the small city of Or Yehuda, outside Tel Aviv. He was due to start a new job at a technology company on October 8.
– Shlomi Ziv, 41, was working as a security guard at the Nova festival when he was kidnapped on October 7. Ziv had been living in the local moshav or agricultural settlement for 17 years with his wife Miren.
– Andrey Kozlov, 27, is a Russian citizen who move to Israel a year ago. He was also working as a security guard at the Nova festival.
Rescuing hostages taken during the Hamas attacks of October 7 remains a major goal of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
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.