FOUR Israeli hostages were freed from Gaza on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, following a “complex daytime operation.”
The Army named the rescued hostages as Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41.
The military announced in a statement that Hamas militants had abducted all four from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and that they had been transferred to a hospital where they were in “good medical condition.”
A Video showed Argamani embracing her father after her release.
She also held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who noted that the Israeli government didn’t give up on her for a moment.
According to Israeli Army spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, a rear admiral, the incident happened “in the heart of a civilian neighbourhood” in two different buildings.
“While under fire inside the buildings, under fire on the way out from Gaza, our forces rescued our hostages,” Hagari said in a televised statement.
The rescue was announced shortly after Israel’s military declared that it was conducting operations in Nuseirat and other central Gazan localities, where there had been reports of intense artillery fire and shelling.
Getting captives released after the October 7 Hamas attacks is still a top priority for the Israeli military operation in Gaza.
With the latest development, there are currently 116 captives being held in the Gaza Strip, out of 250 taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Over 40 of them are already dead.
A representative from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah said at least 107 people died from of the attacks that took place on Saturday in Nusairat, Deir al-Balah, and al-Zawaideh.
The Health Ministry of the territory controlled by Hamas reports that 36,801 people had died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory bombardments and ground offensive on Gaza, the majority of whom were civilians.
The military claimed in a different statement earlier on Saturday, June 8 2024 that troops were targeting terrorist infrastructure in the area of Nuseirat and at least fifteen individuals were killed on Saturday as a result of Israeli strikes in central sections of the territory, including the Nuseirat camp, according to a Gaza hospital.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org