Israeli special forces freed four hostages in Nuseira, central Gaza, on the same day that Israeli air strikes and heavy fighting left at least 93 Palestinians dead, according to local medical sources.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described the Israeli attack as a “bloodbath” and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
The hostages freed in the raid had been kidnapped from the Nova music festival and were named as Noa Al-Ghamani, 25, Almog Meir Yan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40.
Israeli bombing was concentrated around the market and Al-Awda Mosque, and the scale of casualties overwhelmed the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital, the only one in the area that is still partially functional.
The ministry requested emergency medical assistance, saying medical teams on duty were unable to cope with the scale of the disaster, and called on residents to donate blood.
Videos posted on social media, apparently taken from the same location but which could not immediately be verified, showed victims, including women and children, covered in blood and lying limp in the arms of rescue workers.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the special forces carried out the rescue under heavy fire in a “complex urban environment,” calling it “one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations I have witnessed” in his 47-year military career.
All four hostages were in good health and were reunited with their families after undergoing medical examinations at Israeli hospitals. Israeli counter-terrorism police officer Arnon Zamora was killed in the operation.
Images and videos released by Israeli authorities showed Ms Al-Ghamani’s father speaking to her on the way to the hospital, it was his birthday, and he said her release was “the best present”.
Her mother, Liora Arugamani, who has stage four cancer, said her greatest wish was to see her daughter again, and the two are hopeful they will be reunited soon.
Al-Ghamani spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he was pleased to hear Hebrew spoken again, and also spoke by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Forces deployed in the raid included air force, artillery and special forces landed by sea. At one point, a rescue vehicle carrying three hostages became stuck and needed to be rescued, YNET online media reported.
A statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister personally thanked the team that led the operation.
“Once again, you have demonstrated that Israel will not succumb to terrorism and will act with boundless courage and resourcefulness to bring the hostages home,” he said. “We have an obligation to do the same in the future.”
Saturday’s operation was the first successful military operation to free hostages since February, bringing the total number of hostages rescued by Israeli forces to seven. There are still 120 Israelis being held in the Gaza Strip, a third of them believed to be dead.
Palestinian militants kidnapped 250 people on October 7. Most of those now back in Israel did so last November as part of a deal that included a temporary ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Pressure is growing on the Israeli government to agree to a new ceasefire, including from families of the hostages who had planned to hold a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. Ms. Al-Ghamani’s father, Yaacob Al-Ghamani, urged Israelis to take part.
The United States has also been pushing for an agreement to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of hostages, including Americans, but Netanyahu’s government has long maintained that the use of military force is the best way to ensure the return of all those captured on October 7.
He has repeatedly said the war will not end until Hamas is “destroyed” and all the hostages are home, and Saturday’s rescue operation may give a temporary boost to his efforts to resist domestic and international pressure to stop the fighting.
After the news broke, his security minister and political rival, Benny Gantz, postponed a speech planned for Saturday evening in which he was widely expected to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu to draw up a long-term plan for Gaza and announce he was leaving the government.
Gantz will now hold talks with allies on whether the hostage rescue operation represents a fundamental change in the course of the war and whether he should reconsider his decision to step down, Haaretz reported.
