Israeli special forces rescued four hostages from the Nuseirat refugee district in central Gaza Strip in broad daylight on Saturday after 246 days of captivity, the army said.
After the hostages’ liberation, the Palestinian director of al-Aqsa hospital said at least 94 people were killed and another 200 injured during the Israeli rescue operation. This information could not be independently verified. The Israeli military said upon investigation that it verified the reports.
The released Israeli hostages were named as Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40. They were all kidnapped from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7, the military said.
“They are still alive. They are doing well,” said Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Israeli media showed photos of Argamani’s happy reunion with her family. She is best known in Israel for being kidnapped by Hamas on a motorcycle while desperately screaming for help.
The four were rescued during two operations that had been planned for weeks, Hagari said.
Meanwhile, the director of al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah said in a press release that 94 Palestinians had been killed and around 200 others injured in Nuseirat. Earlier, medical circles and the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip spoke of 55 deaths in army attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp and the city of Deir al-Balah.
It was not initially stated whether the people were killed in the army operations to rescue the hostages. It was also not clear how many of the dead were civilians or Hamas fighters. The information could not initially be independently verified. When asked, the military said it was checking the reports.
There were reportedly heavy airstrikes and artillery fire in the area. Images that appear to show scenes from the treating hospital show bloodied victims, dead bodies and injured children. According to reports, complete chaos broke out in al-Aqsa hospital.
The Hamas-controlled media agency called it “an unprecedented, brutal attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp” and said al-Aqsa hospital was in a catastrophic situation.
In Doha, Hamas’s top official, Ismail Haniyeh, described the recent Israeli operations in Gaza as a “massacre” of Palestinians.
“The enemy continues its massacre against our people, our children and women, in Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah,” Hanija said on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Israeli special forces freed four hostages from this area.
Haniyeh declared that Israel had “failed militarily, politically and morally.”
Regarding the still-failed negotiations on a possible ceasefire, Haniyeh stated that Hamas would not agree to an agreement that would not “provide security for our people first and foremost.”
Haniyeh made no mention of the four freed hostages in his statement.
The Israelis were rescued from Gaza after 246 days of captivity from two different buildings in a “complex, high-risk mission,” IDF spokesman Hagari said. The special forces, who had reportedly been preparing for the mission for weeks, carried out the operation under fire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Argamani on Saturday, according to his office. According to the media, she was happy to be able to speak Hebrew again after such a long time.
Her mother was suffering from terminal cancer and wanted to see her daughter before she died. According to Israeli media, Saturday is her father’s birthday.
According to the Forum of Hostage Families, Argamani’s friend, who was also kidnapped and seen in the video of the October 7 kidnapping, is still being held by Hamas.
According to a media report, spontaneous cheers and applause broke out on the Tel Aviv beach after a lifeguard announced the rescue operation.
“We are overjoyed to have you home,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, according to his office. He spoke of a ‘heroic operation’.
Benny Gantz, a minister in Israel’s war cabinet, said after the hostages were rescued that his heart was full, according to media reports. At the same time, he canceled a speech scheduled for this evening. He was expected to announce his party’s withdrawal from government.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the release of four Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip on Saturday as an “important sign of hope”.
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“Four hostages have now been released. Hamas must finally release all hostages. The war must end,” he said.
According to Israeli police, a senior official was also killed during the operation in Nuseirat. No additional information was immediately available.
The war began on October 7 when Hamas launched a surprise attack in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.
There was a temporary ceasefire in November, during which Hamas released more than a hundred hostages in exchange for Israel’s release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
There are believed to be around 120 hostages from Israel still in Gaza, but it is unclear how many of them are still alive.
