Israeli Military Rescues 4 Hostages Over 200 Palestinians Killed, Gaza Health Officials Report

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Photo : Reuters

An Indonesian woman who had been missing was found dead inside the belly of a python after it swallowed her whole in central Indonesia, according to a local official.

In a tragic incident, the Israeli military successfully rescued four hostages, including the face of the October 7 abductions, Noa Argamani, during a daytime raid in central Gaza on Saturday. This operation resulted in the deaths of over 200 Palestinians, Gaza health officials reported.

The hostages—Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40—were among those kidnapped by Hamas during the Nova music festival on October 7. They were transferred to Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv and are reported to be in "good medical condition," according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Securities Authority, and Israel Police.

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The United States provided intelligence support for the operation, according to a U.S. official, with The New York Times first reporting on the U.S. involvement.

The rescue operation took place amid an attack on the central Gaza town of Nuseirat, home to a refugee camp where the hostages were being held. Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that 210 people were killed and another 400 injured in the assault. It remains unclear how many of the casualties were civilians, though international observers and organizations have widely condemned the bloodshed.

The news of the hostages' liberation was met with jubilation in Israel. On a beach in Tel Aviv, crowds cheered as lifeguards announced the news over a loudspeaker, reading the names of the rescued hostages one by one. A video circulating on social media showed Argamani reuniting with her father and speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I'm very excited," she said. "I haven't spoken Hebrew in such a long time."

Yan Gorjaltsan, a friend of Argamani from their hometown of Be'er Sheva, told NBC News that he and a group of friends were on their way to Tel Aviv to see her. "This is the happiest day of our lives," he said. "You can't believe how we're feeling."

United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese criticized the operation, stating that the rescues "should not have come at the expense of at least 200 Palestinians, including children, killed and over 400 injured." The Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in Washington, D.C., condemned the wider attack by Israeli forces as a "horrific massacre" at a refugee camp.

Footage from NBC News captured the aftermath in Nuseirat, showing wounded individuals rushing to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, including children wrapped in gauze. The bloodied and burned bodies of Palestinian adults and children were scattered on the town’s streets, and cars smoldered with charred bodies inside. People wandered the streets in search of missing loved ones, and children carried the bodies of their peers.

Hospitals, already short on supplies, were overwhelmed. Doctors Without Borders described the situation at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as "a nightmare," with its physicians treating an overwhelming number of severely injured patients, many of whom were women and children. Chris Hook, a Doctors Without Borders official, reported that the Nasser Hospital received 50 casualties in one hour. Medical Corps stated that their field hospital in central Gaza was "overwhelmed," having received 220 cases, 40 of which were critical.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari noted in a briefing that they were aware of "about under 100" Palestinian casualties, but it was unclear how many were terrorists. The IDF said its forces came under fire during the operation, and one officer was injured and later died.

The rescue operation came amid growing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate the release of hostages. Thousands of people regularly protested in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, calling for action. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum called the rescue a "miraculous" triumph and urged the government to "bring back all 120 hostages still held by Hamas," and called on Hamas to accept a cease-fire deal proposed by President Joe Biden, which included the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid described the rescue as "a great light in a terrible darkness" and welcomed the hostages back.

Noa Argamani, a data science engineering student, became a symbol of Israel's hostage crisis after a video showed her screaming as she was carried away on a motorcycle. Her mother, Liora, has terminal brain cancer, and Argamani turned 26 while in captivity. Her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, is believed to remain in Gaza.

Almog Meir Jan, who was recently released from military service, was captured while fleeing the festival. Shlomi Ziv, a security guard at Nova, called his sisters while attempting to escape. Andrey Kozlov, who recently moved to Israel from Russia, was also working as a security guard at the festival.

This was the second time the IDF has rescued hostages alive from Gaza since October 7. In February, two hostages were rescued from Rafah, and in May, the bodies of three hostages were recovered from the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.

Hamas captured approximately 240 hostages during the October 7 attacks, which left about 1,200 people dead in Israel. Around half of the hostages were released during a cease-fire in November, and Israel estimates that more than 120 remain, with about a quarter believed to be dead.

Israel declared war following the October 7 incursion by Hamas militants, which resulted in the abduction of 240 people and the deaths of roughly 1,200 inside the country. The conflict has since intensified, displacing 2 million people and leading to the deaths of 36,731 people in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

The international community, including the United States, has urged Israel to increase the precision of its operations to minimize civilian casualties.

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