Israel rescues four hostages kidnapped in Hamas-led attack on October 7

JERUSALEM – Israel said Saturday it had rescued four hostages kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, the largest hostage rescue operation of its kind since the start of the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The army said it rescued Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27) and Shlomi Ziv (40) in a complex special operation during the day in Nuseirat. The hostages were rescued in two different locations in the heart of Nuseirat, it said.

Hamas kidnapped around 250 hostages in its October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war between Israel and Hamas. About half of them were released in November as part of a week-long ceasefire. Israel says more than 130 hostages are still in prison, about a quarter of whom are presumed dead. Disagreements are deepening in the country over the best way to bring them home.

The rescue comes as international pressure mounts on Israel to limit civilian bloodshed in the Gaza war, which entered its eighth month on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East next week in search of a breakthrough in what appear to be stalled ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

According to the Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry, at least 36,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli offensive. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its figures.

Saturday’s operation is the largest rescue of living hostages since the war began, bringing the number of prisoners rescued to seven.

Two men were rescued in February when troops stormed a heavily guarded apartment in a densely populated city, and another hostage, a woman, was rescued after the attack in October. Israeli troops have so far recovered at least 16 bodies of Gaza hostages, according to the Israeli government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing growing pressure to end fighting in Gaza, with many Israelis urging him to accept a deal announced by US President Joe Biden last month, but far-right allies are threatening to overthrow his government if he does so.

One of those rescued on Saturday, Argamani, has been one of the most well-known hostages since her kidnapping at a music festival.

The video of her abduction was among the first to emerge, and images of her horrified face were widely shared – Argamani is held between two men on a motorbike, one arm outstretched, the other held tight as she screams: “Don’t kill me!”

Her mother Liora is suffering from terminal brain cancer and released a video in April begging to be allowed to see her daughter one more time before she died.