Four hostages kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival during the October 7 attacks have been rescued in a daylight raid deep in central Gaza.
Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were rescued from two separate buildings in the Nuseirat area during a “risky, complex mission,” the Israeli military said.
The IDF said the four are in good medical condition and have been taken to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center, where they are pictured hugging relatives waiting at the facility.
Dozens of people, including children, have been killed and injured in the area where the operation took place. Images and footage show a significant number of victims.
Staff at Al-Aqsa Hospital are said to be having difficulty treating the victims.
‘Precise intelligence’
The rare hostage rescue – a joint operation carried out by the IDF, the Israeli Security Service and the Israeli Police – comes eight months into the war with Hamas in Gaza.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the mission was based on “precise” intelligence and that Israeli forces came under fire during the operation.
One special forces officer was injured in the hostage rescue in Gaza and later died in hospital, Israeli police said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Israeli forces for their “creative and courageous actions.”
“We will not stop until we complete the mission and return all hostages – both living and dead – home,” he added.
Ms Argamani, a Chinese-born Israeli citizen, was kidnapped from the Nova festival and harrowing video footage from October 7 showed the 26-year-old being taken away on the back of a motorbike while shouting: “Don’t kill me!”
A new video of her reuniting with her father, smiling and hugging him aboard a vehicle, was broadcast shortly after news of the rescue operation on Saturday.
Mr. Kozlov, a Russian who moved to Israel in 2022, and Mr. Ziv were both working as security guards at the festival when they were kidnapped.
Mr. Jan was supposed to start working at a large technology company the day after his kidnapping.
The headquarters of the Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the hostages’ families, described the rescue as “a miraculous triumph” and thanked the IDF for the “heroic operation.”
The group added: “The Israeli government must remember its promise to return all 120 hostages still held by Hamas – the living for rehabilitation, the murdered for burial.”
The rescue comes amid efforts for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Netanyahu has been urged to reach a deal, but he faces opposition from far-right allies who say military action is the only way to return the hostages.
Saturday’s operation is the most successful hostage rescue by the Israeli army in this war – and could change the calculus of a prime minister under increasing pressure.
Responding to the military offensive in Nuseirat, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said Israel cannot force its choices on the group.
He said the group would not agree to a ceasefire unless security for Palestinians is achieved.
During the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, Hamas killed about 1,200 people and captured about 251.
About 116 people remain in Palestinian territory, including 41 who the army says are dead.
Under a deal agreed in November, Hamas released 105 hostages in exchange for a weeklong ceasefire, and some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons were released.
On Saturday, the Hamas-led Health Ministry said the death toll in Gaza now stands at 36,801 people.
