Israel rescues 4 hostages from Gaza; 210 Palestinians reportedly killed

Israel carried out its biggest hostage rescue operation since the start of the war with Hamas on Saturday, evacuating four hostages from central Gaza amid heavy air and ground strikes by the military. The bodies of at least 210 Palestinians, including children, were taken to local hospitals, a health official said.

Israelis cheered when the army announced that it had freed Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27) and Shlomi Ziv (40) in a daytime operation in the heart of Nuseirat. They stormed two locations simultaneously while under fire. The hostages were flown by helicopter for medical examinations and to be reunited with their families after 246 days in captivity.

Argamani, one of the most famous hostages, was kidnapped like the other three at a music festival in southern Israel. The video of her kidnapping, one of the first to emerge, shows her sitting between two men on a motorcycle while screaming: “Don’t kill me!”

Her mother, Liora, is suffering from brain cancer and has released a video asking to see her daughter. Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Argamani was taken to the hospital where her mother is being treated.

In a message released by the government, an enthusiastic Argamani tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone that she is “very excited” and has not heard Hebrew in a long time.

Netanyahu vowed in a statement that he would continue fighting until all hostages were free. The operation was “daring in nature, brilliantly planned and executed in an extraordinary manner,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Palestinians injured in an Israeli bombardment arrive at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday.

(Ismael Abu Dayyah / Associated Press)

Israeli planes buzzed overhead as the bodies of 109 Palestinians, including 23 children and 11 women, were brought to Al-Aqsa hospital. Spokesman Khalil Degran told the Associated Press that more than 100 wounded people had also arrived. He said a total of 210 bodies had been taken there and to Al-Awda hospital. The number of dead at Al-Awda could not be immediately confirmed.

“The brutal massacre that Netanyahu and his fascist government carried out today against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, in which 210 people have been killed and over 400 injured so far – under the pretext of freeing the resistance’s prisoners – confirms what the resistance has repeatedly stated: that Netanyahu does not intend to reach an agreement to end the war and peacefully release the imprisoned Israelis,” said Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official in Lebanon.

AP reporters saw dozens of bodies being brought out of the Nuseirat and Deir al Balah areas as smoke rose in the distance and armored vehicles rolled by.

A baby was among the dead. Blood-soaked children were crying. The bodies were laid on the ground outside with bare feet, while other injured people were brought in.

“My two cousins ​​​​were killed and two other cousins ​​​​were seriously injured. They committed no sin. They were sitting at home,” said a relative amid chaos in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

As Palestinians explored the freshly destroyed buildings, an overwhelmed child sat on a collapsed metal door.

Egypt condemned Israel’s attacks on the Nuseirat camp “in the strongest possible terms.” The Egyptian Foreign Ministry described them as a “flagrant violation of all rules of international law.” Jordan also condemned them.

“The bloodbath must end immediately,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on the social platform X, referring to reports of civilian deaths.

The Israeli military said it had attacked “threats to our forces in the region.” The military said a commando had succumbed to his injuries.

Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, told reporters that intelligence had determined some time ago that the hostages were being held in two apartments in the heart of the Nuseirat camp, about 200 meters apart. He said the forces had repeatedly practiced on a model of the residences.

Hagari said the rescuers approached the homes simultaneously, believing that this would give them the element of surprise. But as the rescuers moved out, they came under heavy fire, he said, including anti-tank grenades fired from the neighborhood.

“There was heavy shooting all around us,” he said, adding that the military responded with heavy force, including aircraft, to free the rescuers and hostages.

A multi-U.S. agency hostage rescue team provided advice and assistance throughout the hostages’ location and rescue, according to a Biden administration official who was not authorized to comment and requested anonymity.

Hamas took around 250 hostages in the October 7 attack, which killed around 1,200 people. Around half of the hostages were released in November as part of a week-long ceasefire. Around 120 hostages are still in prison; 43 of them have been declared dead. The survivors include around 15 women, two children under the age of five and two men in their eighties.

With Saturday’s rescue, a total of seven hostages have now been rescued. Two were released in February and one after the attack in October. According to the Israeli government, Israeli troops have recovered the bodies of at least 16 hostages.

Israelis celebrate the rescue of the hostages in front of the Sheba Medical Center.

(Tomer Appelbaum / Associated Press)

The latest rescue should lift spirits in Israel as disagreements grow over the best method to bring the hostages home. Many Israelis have urged Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire deal announced by President Biden last month, but far-right allies are threatening to overthrow his government if he does so.

Netanyahu, whose support has plummeted, rushed to the hospital to greet the released hostages. But on Saturday evening, thousands of Israelis again gathered for anti-government demonstrations and called for a ceasefire.

“It is time to pay the price for a political deal. A deal that will bring them all back without endangering soldiers,” said Omri Shtivi, whose brother Idan celebrated his 29th birthday in captivity on Saturday.

It was unclear what impact the rescue might have on the apparently stalled ceasefire efforts. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will return to the Middle East next week hoping for a breakthrough.

“The hostage release and ceasefire agreement now on the table would ensure the release of all remaining hostages, along with security guarantees for Israel and assistance for innocent civilians in Gaza,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

International pressure is growing on Israel to limit civilian bloodshed in the Gaza war, which entered its eighth month on Friday. More than 36,700 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

In addition, the population of Palestine is suffering from severe hunger as aid deliveries have largely come to a standstill due to fighting and Israeli restrictions.

The consequences of the Israeli bombing of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

(Jehad Alshrafi / Associated Press)

Israel is intensifying its attacks on the central Gaza Strip, where the hostages were rescued. On Thursday, an Israeli airstrike hit a UN-run school compound in Nuseirat, killing more than 33 people, including three women and nine children.

Israel said there were about 30 militants in the building at the time and on Friday released the names of 17 of those it claimed were killed. However, only nine of those names matched the names of the dead from the hospital morgue.

One of the people Israel described as militants was an eight-year-old boy, according to hospital records.

The Israeli military claimed on Saturday: “Hamas is a terrorist organization that often uses forged documents and disguises terrorists as women or children.”

Meanwhile, Benny Gantz, a popular centrist member of Israel’s three-member war cabinet, postponed his expected announcement. Gantz had threatened to resign if the government did not adopt a new plan for the Gaza war by Saturday. Netanyahu urged him not to resign.

Associated Press writer Shurafa reported from Deir al Balah and Mednick and Jeffrey reported from Jerusalem.