This morning, in a complex joint operation carried out by the Israeli army, the Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) and the Israeli police’s anti-terrorism unit, four Israeli hostages were freed from the Gaza Strip. The four are Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir (21), Andrei Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40). Hamas had kidnapped all four of them on October 7 last year while they were attending the Nova Music Festival, which was held near the border settlement of Re'im. They are all reportedly in good condition.
Yamam officer Arnon Zemora was seriously injured in the operation and died of his wounds in the hospital.
The hostages were rescued from two locations separated by a few hundred meters in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. The raids on the buildings themselves were carried out by Yamam and the Israeli General Security Service, with the IDF providing covering fire from the ground and air. Hamas claimed that large numbers of non-combatants were killed and wounded in the operation.
Israeli army spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “It was a daring operation in broad daylight.” “During that operation, fighters raided two different buildings in the heart of the Gaza Strip. Under fire, they rescued the four hostages and attacked threats to our forces in the area. Obtaining intelligence for this operation was a very complex process in itself.
Hagari continued: “In addition to great joy, we will continue to do everything in our power to return the remaining 120 hostages to us.” He added, “The message to Hamas is clear: We are firmly determined to return the hostages to the homeland, and we will do so by all means possible.”
Defense Minister Yoav Galant said: “Noah, Almog, Andre and Shlomi, how good it is that you are with us. Our fighters succeeded in freeing four hostages from Hamas captivity and returning the house to Israel. I followed the complex operation from the command room: the IDF forces, the General Security Service and the Yamam forces, “She acted bravely and under heavy fire, heroically completing her mission at every opportunity.”
National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz canceled the press conference in which he was scheduled to announce his withdrawal from the government, which his party joined in the wake of the October 7 attack. Gantz had given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an ultimatum that unless he presented a coherent plan for how the Gaza Strip would be governed after the war by June 8, his centrist party would withdraw from the government. After today's rescue operation, Netanyahu called on Gantz to stay. In response, Gantz issued a statement welcoming the process, but said that the external and internal challenges facing Israel remain, “and therefore today we also need to look responsibly about the validity and possibility of continuing from here.”
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on June 8, 2024.
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