Understand the operation that rescued four hostages in the Gaza Strip

The Israel Defense Forces rescued four Israeli hostages this Saturday (8) who had been held by Hamas since October 7. Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40) were at the Nova music festival at the time of the group’s invasion of Israeli territory.

According to the FDA, everyone is in “good health” and will undergo examinations at the Sheba Tel HaShomer hospital, in the Tel Aviv region.

Rescue operation

The four hostages were found in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central region of the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces say it took weeks to plan the rescue, which also included support from the country’s national intelligence service and a special police unit. CNN heard from an American army officer that the United States also provided intelligence support to the operation.

According to a statement released this Saturday, the objective of the action was to demobilize the “terrorist infrastructure” installed in the region.

The military was also deployed to areas close to the refugee camp, such as Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaideh.

The number of Palestinians killed in the operation is still uncertain. And it continues to rise as health authorities in the enclave receive the injured at a hospital in central Gaza. So far, more than a hundred deaths have been confirmed. It is not known how many of them were civilians and how many were Hamas militants.

An Israeli police officer also died during the fighting.

Benjamin Netanyahu celebrates rescue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the result of the operation in the Gaza Strip. In an audio released by the government, he tells one of the hostages that “we never gave up on you. Not for a minute.”

The Forum for Families of Hostages or Disappeared Persons also commented on the operation. In a statement, the group said the rescue was a “heroic” feat and a miraculous triumph.” The Forum further wrote that it “continues to ask the international community to pressure Hamas to accept the ceasefire proposal (presented by Israel last week) and to release the 120 hostages still in captivity.”