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The Israeli army announced this Saturday that it freed four hostages alive during a “difficult” and “complex” military operation in Nusseirat, in the center of the Gaza Strip.
This Saturday morning, during a “difficult special daytime operation in Nousseirat, four Israeli hostages were freed”, writes the army in a statement.
They are Noa Argamani, 25 years old, Almog Meir Jan, 21 years old, Andrey Kozlov, 27 years old, and Shlomi Ziv, 40 years old, all four “kidnapped” by Hamas October 7 at the venue of the electronic music festival Nova, according to the army.
“We will continue our efforts to return the hostages,” the statement also said.
The Israeli police announced in the middle of the afternoon the death of one of its agents during a military operation that allowed the release of four hostages.
“It is with great sadness and sorrow that the Israel Police and Border Police announce the death of Agent Arnon Zmora (…) who was fatally injured in a hostage return operation this morning in Gaza,” the police wrote in a press release.
Earlier, a spokesman for the Israeli army mentioned one serious injury during this operation.
A “complex” operation
Shortly before 4:00 p.m. (local time), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the release of the four hostages, hailing the operation as showing that Israel is “not giving in to terrorism.”
“We are glad to welcome you home,” declared on X Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defense Minister. The army’s operation to return the hostages was “complex and heroic,” he wrote, adding that Israel would continue “the fight until all 120 hostages return home.”
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari detailed in a statement the military operation in Nousseirat enabled the return of the hostages, also speaking of a “complex” mission. This “high-risk” action was carried out this Saturday at 11 a.m., “in broad daylight”, he points out, based on “precise information”.
It took place “in two different buildings”, “in the heart of a civilian neighborhood with armed terrorists” and was carried out “under fire” from Hamas, the spokesman assures.
He said Israeli special forces had been preparing for “weeks” for the rescue with “intense” training. An IDF soldier was “seriously injured and hospitalized” during this mission, according to the Israeli authorities.
The soldiers “risked their lives to save those from the hostages”, supports Daniel Hagari, ensuring that the Israeli army did not “lose sight of the fact that Hamas is still holding 120 hostages”. “We will not stop fighting for their freedom, any other decent country would do the same,” he added.
Earlier on Saturday, the army said it was targeting “terrorist infrastructure in the Nusseirat area”, which is in the center of the besieged Palestinian territory.
A spokesman for Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Dr. Khalil al-Dakran, announced Saturday the death of 15 people in “intense Israeli strikes,” in which he said many others were wounded. Hamas, for its part, declares that 50 Palestinians were killed in the attack on Saturday morning.
“Return 120 Hamas hostages”
The family forum immediately reacted to this post this Saturday. “The Israeli army’s heroic operation to free and bring home Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov and Almog Meir Jan is a miraculous triumph,” the organization said in a press release.
The forum, however, reminded “the Israeli government of its obligation to return the 120 Hamas hostages – those alive and those who are no longer alive.
Images of reunion scenes, such as that of Noah Argamani with his father, are beginning to spread on social networks.
Benny Gantz, tenor of the Israeli war cabinet who had threatened to resign and was originally scheduled to speak at a press conference this Saturday night, canceled his speech.
Proclaiming his “joy” as his “relief,” reminded the French embassy in Israel that “our compatriots Ofer and Ohad are still suffering the hell of imprisonment”.
Two French-Israeli fathers of the family remain in the hands of Hamas: Ohad Yahalomi, 49 years old, and Ofer Kalderon, 53 years old. The third French hostage, Orion Hernandez-Radoux, 32, found dead at the end of May in the Gaza Strip.
During the Hamas attack on October 7, 251 people were taken hostage. 116 of them are still in Gaza, including 41 dead, according to the Israeli army.
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