Israeli Troops Rescue Four Hostages from Hamas in Gaza Strip
Four Israeli hostages were rescued alive by Israeli troops from Hamas captivity in an operation carried out in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, the Israeli army (IDF) announced, according to The Times of Israel.
"The hostages were rescued from two separate locations in the heart of Nuseirat. They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the 'Sheba' Medical Center at Tel-HaShomer for further medical examinations," specified an IDF communiqué, which promises that "security forces will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages home."
The hostages, who were captured by Hamas from the Supernova music festival in October last year, are Noa Argamani (25 years old), Almog Meir Jan (21 years old), Andrey Kozlov (27 years old), and Shlomi Ziv (40 years old). They are in good medical condition, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) specified.
Special forces simultaneously carried out a raid on two Hamas locations in Nuseirat, in central Gaza. Argamani was rescued from one of the hideouts, while Meir Jan, Kozlov, and Ziv were in the second location.
During the operation, intense aerial strikes took place in the area against several Hamas shelters in support of the ground troops. Hamas medical authorities reported a "large number" of casualties, according to The Times of Israel.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Saturday that Israeli military attacks in al-Nuseirat had killed and injured dozens of people, including women and children. The Ministry did not specify how many of the dead were combatants. A health ministry official estimated the number of dead at over 50, stating that emergency intervention teams were trying to transport the dead and injured to a hospital in the neighbouring city of Deir al-Balah, but many corpses still lay on the streets, including around a market.
Nuseirat is one of the few areas in Gaza where ground troops have not yet entered during the ongoing war against Hamas, as mentioned by The Times of Israel.
Israel announced this week that more than a third of the hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip have died. Of the approximately 250 people kidnapped and taken to the Palestinian enclave during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, a few dozen were released as part of a truce agreed in November, while other hostages were recovered - alive or dead - by Israeli troops.
According to Israel, as of Tuesday, June 4, 120 people were still held hostage, of which 43 have been declared dead by Israeli authorities based on multiple sources, including information, video recordings from surveillance cameras, and forensic analyses.
Israeli officials privately claim that the death toll could be higher.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
