DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel carried out an operation Saturdayor to rescue four hostages from central Gazaduring which the Israeli army launched an intense air and ground attack. At least 210 Palestinians were killed during the raid, including children, a Gaza health official said.
The Israeli population was jubilant at the army’s announcement that it had freed Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, in a daytime operation carried out in the heart of Nuseirat. The four hostages were fine., according to the Israeli military. They were flown by helicopter for medical checks and emotional reunions with their loved ones after 246 days in captivity.
Israeli planes buzzed in the sky while the bodies of 109 Palestinians, including 23 children and 11 women, were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where spokesman Khalil Degran told The Associated Press that more than 100 wounded also arrived. He specified that, in total, 210 deceased people had been received there and at Al-Awda hospital, stating that he had spoken with the director of the latter. So far, Al-Awda’s figures have not been confirmed.
“The horrible massacre committed today by Netanyahu and his fascist government against the Palestinian people in Gaza, which has caused the killing of 210 people and more than 400 injured so far —under the pretext of releasing those detained by the resistance—confirms what the resistance has said repeatedly: that Netanyahu does not intend to reach an agreement to stop the war and peacefully release the captured Israelis,” declared Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official now residing in Lebanon.
AP reporters saw dozens of bodies coming from the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah areas, as smoke rose in the distance and as armored vehicles passed by.
A baby was among the dead. Little children cried, covered in blood. The bodies were placed on the ground, outside, with bare feet, while more wounded were rushed to the hospital.
“My two cousins were killed and two other cousins were seriously injured. They did not commit any sin. “They were sitting at home,” said a relative in the midst of the chaos. As Palestinians explored the newly destroyed buildings, a small boy sat on a collapsed metal door, overwhelmed.
Egypt condemned “in the strongest terms” the Israeli attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp, with its Foreign Minister calling it “a flagrant violation of all norms of international law.” Jordan also condemned the assault.
“The bloodbath must end immediately”said the head of foreign policy of the European Union, Josep Borrel, on the social network X, pointing to reports of civilian deaths.
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the operation was “daring in nature, brilliantly planned and extraordinarily executed.”
The Israeli military claimed it had attacked “threats to our forces in the area,” adding that one soldier died from his wounds.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that military intelligence determined some time ago that the captive Israelis were being held in two apartments, about 200 meters (219 yards) from each other, in the heart of the camp. Nuseirat. He said Israeli forces had repeatedly trained on a mock-up of the apartment buildings.
Hagari said that Israeli troops entered both apartments simultaneously in broad daylight, believing that this ensured the best element of surprise. However, according to Hagari, rescue teams faced resistance, including from men armed with rocket-propelled grenades from inside the neighborhood.
“There was a lot of fire around us,” he said, adding that The Israeli army responded with force, including the use of aircraft, to remove its soldiers and free the captives.
A U.S. hostage release cell provided advice and support throughout the process of locating and extracting the captives, according to an official in President Joe Biden’s administration, who was not authorized to comment and requested anonymity. Hostage release cells are multi-agency teams.
Argamani had been one of the most recognizable hostages after she was taken captive at a music festival. In the video of her kidnapping, she appears sitting between two men on a motorcycle while she screamed: “Don’t kill me.”
Her mother, Liora, who suffers from brain cancer, posted a video in which she pleaded to see her daughter. Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Argamani was taken to the hospital where her mother is receiving treatment.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu He promised to continue fighting until all the hostages are freed.
Hamas took about 250 hostages during the Oct. 7 attack, which killed about 1,200 people. About half of those captives were freed during a week-long ceasefire in November. About 120 hostages remain, of whom 43 have been declared dead. Among the survivors are about 15 women, two children under 5 years old and two men over 80 years old.
Saturday’s operation raised the total of captives rescued by Israel to seven. Two were freed in February and one was rescued shortly after the October attack. Israeli troops have so far recovered at least 16 bodies of Gaza hostages, according to the Israeli government.
The rescue raised spirits in Israel at a time when divisions are growing over the best way to return the hostages home. Many Israelis are urging Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire deal announced last month by Biden, but his far-right allies are threatening to topple his government if he does.
Netanyahu, whose support has waned, He immediately went to the hospital to greet the freed hostages. But thousands of Israelis gathered again Saturday afternoon in the latest anti-government demonstration and called for a ceasefire agreement.
“It is time to pay the price for a political agreement. An agreement that brings them all home without risking the soldiers”said Omri Shtivi, whose brother, Idan, is one of the captives in Gaza.
It was unclear what effect the rescue might have on the possibility of a ceasefire. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East next week to try to make progress.
“The hostage release and ceasefire agreement now on the table will ensure the release of all remaining hostages, along with security guarantees for Israel and relief for innocent civilians in Gaza,” the adviser said in a statement. American national security, Jake Sullivan.
The International pressure mounts on Israel to limit killing of civilians in its Gaza warwhich as of Friday had killed 36,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Palestinians also face widespread famine because fighting and Israeli restrictions have largely cut off the flow of humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, Benny Gantz, a popular centrist member of Israel’s war cabinet who has threatened to resign from the government if it did not adopt a new plan for the Gaza war on Saturday, postponed a scheduled announcement. Netanyahu urged him not to resign.
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Mednick and Jeffery reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
