Dozens of Palestinian children killed in Israeli rescue operation: Gaza Ministry

While Israel rescued four hostages kidnapped by Hamas in its October 7 attack on Saturday morning, at least 94 Palestinians, including children, were killed in the Israeli operation, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Nearly 100 Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured in the rescue operation of Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27) and Shlomi Ziv (40) from two locations near Nuseirat, a densely populated refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Associated Press. Their bodies were reportedly taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital. Reports from local sources put the number of fatalities at far higher levels; some say over 210.

Newsweek could not confirm the figures and is monitoring incoming reports with details of the operation.

All four hostages rescued on Saturday were safely returned to their families by helicopter. According to Israeli police, an Israeli commander was killed in the operation.

Ziad, a medic and resident of Nuseirat who gave only his first name to Reuters, told the news agency: “It was like a horror movie, but it was a real massacre. Israeli drones and warplanes fired indiscriminately all night at people’s homes and at people trying to flee the area.”

He added that the attack was focused on a local marketplace and the Al-Awda Mosque.

The operation came after Israeli forces attacked a United Nations (UN) school compound in the same area earlier this week. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), around 6,000 displaced Palestinians sought refuge in the school and dozens were killed in the airstrikes.

The agency noted that “since the beginning of the war, more than 180 UN agency buildings have been hit, killing more than 450 displaced people in these facilities.” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday that the agency “shares the coordinates of all its facilities (including this school) with the Israeli army and other parties to the conflict. Attacks on @UN buildings or their use for military purposes must not become the new norm.”

In a Friday X post, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly confirmed the identities of “17 terrorists operating out of the school.” The IDF also said its attack was “a targeted strike.” According to AP, only nine of the names listed by Israel matched records in the hospital morgue, with one suspected militant listed as an 8-year-old boy.

Following the school strike, the UNRWA aid agency told UN News on Friday: “The death toll is between 35 and 45. Dozens more were injured.”

Juliette Touma, UNRWA Communications Director, said Newsweek in a WhatsApp message that the agency has no information about today’s military operation.

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 250 hostages were taken and about 1,200 people were killed, Israel has launched a massive military offensive with airstrikes and ground operations. About half of the hostages were released during a temporary ceasefire in November, which also saw the release of 240 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

As an ally of Israel, the United States has supported the country’s operations with military weapons, and the use of many of these weapons in Israeli offensives has been documented.

The past few months have seen record levels of violence and destruction, with nearly two million Palestinians displaced and over 36,700 killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry., a department within the Hamas-controlled government.

Newsweek contacted the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces by email on Saturday morning. Newsweek also contacted the Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations via Facebook on Saturday for comment.

Children and women have been disproportionately affected by the war in recent months. However, a recent analysis by AP shows that women and children have made up around “40 percent of those killed in Gaza since April.”

The eight-month conflict was also associated with the spread of disease, famine, mass deaths and displacement.

Update 06/08/24, 1:15 PM ET: This article has been updated with additional information.