The freed captives are in good medical condition and are being monitored at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan’s Tel Hashomer neighborhood.
By Charles Bybelezer, JNS
Israeli forces on Saturday rescued four hostages from two separate locations in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip.
During a “complex” IDF/Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) daytime operation in the heart of a crowded residential neighborhood, the forces recovered from Hamas captivity Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40.
A fighter from the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit was mortally wounded during the rescue mission.
Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora was rushed to the hospital and shortly thereafter was pronounced dead.
Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora died from wounds sustained during the rescue of four hostages from the Gaza Strip, June 8, 2024. Credit: Israel Police.
The four hostages were all abducted by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im during the Oct. 7 massacre.
Argamani, a a student at the Information Systems Engineering Department at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva, was five days short of her 26th birthday when she was kidnapped. She was being kept in a location in the Nuseirat camp separate from the three male hostages.
Noa Argamani being taken into captivity, Oct. 7, 2023. Source: Screenshot
The freed captives are in good medical condition and being monitored at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan’s Tel Hashomer neighborhood.
“The entire nation salutes the brave fighters who risked their lives today to save lives. Once again, you have proven that Israel does not surrender to terrorism and acts with creativity and courage that knows no bounds to bring home the hostages,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.
“We are committed to doing so in the future as well. We will not let up until we complete the mission and return all of the hostages home— both the living and the dead,” he added.
Netanyahu also released a video of a phone conversation between him and Argamani.
“How do you feel?” asked the premier.
“I’m very excited,” replied Argamani. “I haven’t spoken Hebrew in such a long time.”
Added Netanyahu: “We did not give up on you for even one moment. I don’t know if you believed it, but we did and I’m happy that it’s become a reality.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he was “overjoyed” to have the hostages home, adding that the military would “keep fighting” until every captive is returned.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said, “Noa, Shlomi, Almog and Andrey: We waited for you, and we are still waiting for everyone. Everyone.”
He expressed appreciation to the security forces for the “bold and brave” operation, calling it “a great light in the terrible darkness.”
התרגשות גדולה עם קבלת הבשורות המשמחות.
נועה, שלומי, אלמוג ואנדריי. חיכינו לכם, ועדיין אנחנו מחכים לכולם. כולם.
הרבה הערכה לכוחות הבטחון על מבצע נועז ואמיץ במשימה העליונה להחזיר את החטופים הביתה. אור גדול בתוך החושך הנורא. pic.twitter.com/5ysNKolxcr
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 8, 2024
Israeli authorities also released footage of Argamani, who has become one of the most recognizable Israeli hostages, reuniting with her father after eight months in Hamas captivity.
Argamani’s mother, Liora, is hospitalized at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center’s Ichilov Hospital with terminal brain cancer. Medical authorities were discussing whether Noa should be reunited with her mother at Ichilov Hospital, or alternatively, Liora was strong enough to visit Noa at Sheba Medical Center.
Breaking: Some of the first footage of Noa Argamani, kidnapped Israeli hostage for 8 months, returning home after IDF forces rescued her and 4 other hostages.
May we bring them all home soon. pic.twitter.com/zjKq1cF7kx
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) June 8, 2024
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum released a statement praising the “heroic operation” to recover the four captives, describing the development as a “miraculous triumph.”
“Now, with the joy that is washing over Israel, the Israeli government must remember its commitment to bring back all 120 hostages still held by Hamas—the living for rehabilitation, the murdered for burial,” said the forum.
“We continue to call upon the international community to apply the necessary pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed deal and release the other 120 hostages held in captivity; every day there is a day too much,” it added.
Shortly after the news broke, footage of a lifeguard in Tel Aviv sharing the development amid rapturous applause from bathers went viral.
Tel Aviv beach an hour ago:
Israelis cheer and celebrate at the beach after the lifeguard informs of the rescue of 4 hostages.
Noa Argamani (25)
Almog Meir Jan (21)
Andrey Kozlov (27)
Shlomi Ziv (40)
They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’… pic.twitter.com/ZjBKw1mVwH
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) June 8, 2024
On Monday, the IDF announced that four Israeli men who were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 died in captivity in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
“IDF officials informed the families of Haim Perry, Yoram Metzger, Amiram Cooper and Nadav Popplewell, who were brutally abducted to the Gaza Strip, that they are no longer alive and their bodies are being held by the Hamas terrorist organization,” the military said.
Earlier on Monday, the IDF announced that the corpse of Dolev Yehud, an Israeli paramedic murdered by Hamas terrorists during the assault on Kibbutz Nir Oz, had been located inside the kibbutz grounds.
Last month, Israeli forces recovered the bodies of captives Shani Louk, 22, Amit Bouskila, 28, Ron Benjamin, 53, and Itzhak Gelerenter, 56, during an overnight operation in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Also in May, Lior Rudaeff was declared dead exactly seven months after he was presumed to have been abducted by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 invasion.
Days earlier, two more Israeli victims were declared dead—Elyakim Libman, 23, a security guard at the Supernova music festival presumed to have been taken hostage but whose body was found in Israeli territory, and Dror Or, 49, who was kidnapped to Gaza from Kibbutz Be’eri.
In February, Israeli forces freed hostages Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Norberto Louis Har, 70, during an overnight raid in Rafah. The pair were kidnapped to Gaza while visiting Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on Oct. 7.
In November, Pvt. Ori Megidish was freed by Israeli forces during a raid in the Gaza Strip after being kidnapped from the IDF’s Nahal Oz Base on Oct. 7.
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