Four Hamas hostages in the Gaza Strip have been freed, Israel announced on Saturday, June 8. According to Hamas, the operation to free them left more than 270 dead.
Liberation between joy and criticism. After the announcement on Saturday June 8 the release of four Israeli hostages from Hamas alive, several voices, including that of European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell, were raised to condemn the terms of their release.
It is a “difficult” operation, according to the Israeli army that carried it out, in order to free the hostages. According to Hamas’ health ministry, it left at least 274 dead.
THE hostages they were released while in the Nousseirat refugee camp. Aged 22, 26, 27 and 41, they were all “abducted” from the venue of the Nova electro music festival, during an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil by Hamas on October 7, which sparked hostilities.
“The bloodshed must stop”
“Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv are free and safe today. We share the relief of their families and call for the release of all remaining hostages”, the head of EU diplomacy.
However, a little later he condemned the “terrible massacre of civilians”. “The bloodshed must stop immediately,” he demanded.
“This horror must stop,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres insisted.
Saying she was “relieved” after the release of the hostages, UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese regretted that it was “at the cost of at least 200 Palestinians, including children, killed and more than 400 injured”.
“Triumph” for the hostage family association
The operation carried out by the Israeli army was aimed at showing that Israel is not giving in “to terrorism”, assured the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahucurrently under pressure at home and abroad.
The Hostage Families Forum hailed the “miraculous triumph”, calling on the government and the international community to secure the release of the remaining captives.
For its part, Hamas also reacted, assessing that “the enemy, by committing terrible massacres, managed to free some of their prisoners, but at the same time killed some, during the operation,” said the spokesman of its armed wing, Abou Obeida. .
The hostages were transferred to the hospital
According to the military, the hostages are in “good health” and have been transferred to a medical center near Tel Aviv.
A video posted on social networks shows the touching reunion of Noa Argamani and her fatheras well as the Israelis on the beach who shout for joy when they hear the rescuer announce the release of the hostages.
New bombings took place this Sunday in the Gaza Strip. Four members of the same family were killed and several injured in an Israeli attack that hit their house in Al-Darraj, according to doctors at Al-Ahli Hospital.
While diplomatic efforts to reach a truce are stalled, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to “promote a ceasefire proposal” recently unveiled by President Joe Biden in Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan in the coming days, according to Washington.