On Saturday, the Israeli military announced that it had rescued four hostages from two different locations in the al-Nuseirat area of central Gaza, marking the largest hostage rescue operation since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began. The hostages, including a woman, were kidnapped by armed Hamas militants at the “Nova Festival” in southern Israel on October 7 last year. They have been taken to a hospital for medical checks and are reported to be in good health.
The rescued individuals have been identified as Noa Argamani (25 years old), Almog Meir Jan (21 years old), Andrey Kozlov (27 years old), and Shlomi Ziv (40 years old).
The emotional reunion between Argamani and her father was broadcast on Israeli Channel 12 news. The footage captured the heartwarming moment of her smiling and embracing her father.
Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year, resulting in the death of over 1,300 individuals and the kidnapping of around 250 hostages, triggering a war between Israel and Hamas. About half of the hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire agreement in November last year. Israel has reported that over 130 hostages are still being held captive, with an estimated quarter of them believed to have died.
Shortly after Argamani was kidnapped by gunmen in Gaza on October 7 last year, videos of the incident circulated online. In one video, she was seen being abducted by two men on a motorcycle, screaming in fear, “Don’t kill me!”
Argamani’s mother, Liora, who is suffering from stage four brain cancer, released a video in April pleading to see her daughter before she passed away.
It is reported that the four hostages were rescued from two different locations in the central Nuseirat city center on Saturday, bringing the total number of rescued hostages to seven.
This rescue operation comes at a time when the international community is increasing pressure on Israel to end the conflict in Gaza, which has been ongoing for eight months. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the Middle East next week to seek a breakthrough in the seemingly stalled ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the conflict has resulted in at least 36,000 deaths.