Four live hostages were rescued from the Hamas terror dungeons in central Gaza Saturday morning in a special operation by Israeli forces.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement from the hospital to which all four were taken for medical evaluations.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari revealed details of the operation once the hostages were safely in Israeli territory.
Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40), were rescued by IDF, Shin Bet (ISA) and Israel Police special forces (Yamam) in a complex, special, daytime operation in Nuseirat.
They were evacuated by helicopter and flown directly to Israeli territory. One member of the special forces who rescued the hostages was killed during the operation.
The hostages were greeted by the prime minister upon their arrival at the hospital.
“Israel just carried out a remarkable rescue operation of four hostages held by Hamas. This operation required ingenuity and courage of the highest degree, and our soldiers performed in an unmatchable way,” Netanyahu said.
“We’re committed to getting the release of all the hostages, and we expect Hamas to release them all — but if they don’t, we’ll do whatever it takes to get them all back home. Hamas is committing war crimes every day, including the holding of these hostages. Our soldiers are performing in the most valiant and moral way to end this war with a victory against these killers and against these kidnappers, and we shall prevail”.
Argamani, a Be’er Sheva resident whose mother is being treated for terminal cancer at Ichilov Medical Center, was held in a separate location from the other three hostages who were rescued. Argmani was taken to see her mother immediately after speaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
It is important to note that the four hostages were being held in two separate locations by “innocent Gaza civilians” in apartment buildings in the heart of Nuseirat, after having been kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7th from the ‘Nova’ music festival in Reim.
The 4 Israeli hostages rescued today were being held in apartments in the area of this market in Nusseirat, central Gaza Strip. They were being held by ordinary Gazan families.#TheGazaYouDontsee https://t.co/xMyigHZLdM
— Imshin (@imshin) June 8, 2024
Israeli authorities said all four are miraculously in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for further medical examinations.
“The security forces will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages home,” the IDF said.
Israeli forces knew the location of the hostages for weeks, according to Israeli media, and were training for the special operation to rescue all four.
Arab media reported that “hundreds of Arabs” were killed during the rescue operation, but the actual number of those who were killed is not yet known; moreover, it is likely that those who were killed were terrorists who attempted to prevent the rescue.
