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Dozens of hostages are believed to be held in densely populated areas or in Hamas’s maze of tunnels, making such operations extremely complex and risky. A similar raid in February rescued two hostages while killing 74 Palestinians.
Israel launched a massive offensive in response that killed more than 36,700 Palestinians, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its count.
It said nearly 700 people were injured in Saturday’s attack. The ministry did not say how many of the victims were women and children, but Associated Press reporters saw several being treated at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah after the attack.
Israelis celebrated the return of Noah Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27 years old; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, after Israeli forces attacked two locations simultaneously while under fire.
Her mother Liora, who is suffering from brain cancer, released a video asking to see her daughter. Israel’s Channel 13 said Argamani was transferred to the hospital where her mother was being treated.
In Gaza, medics described scenes of horror and chaos as wounded people poured into nearby hospitals already struggling to treat the wounded from days of heavy Israeli strikes in the area.
“We had a range of war wounds, traumatic wounds, from amputations to eviscerations to trauma, to TBI (traumatic brain injury), fractures and obviously major burns,” said Karin Huster of Doctors Without Borders, an international charity working at Martyrs’ Hospital in Al-Aqsa, one of the establishments that received the killed and wounded.
“The children are completely gray or white from the shock, burned, screaming for their parents. Many of them do not scream because they are in shock.
The Israeli military said it attacked “threats to our forces in the area” and that a special forces officer was killed in the rescue operation.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters on Saturday that the hostages were being held in two apartments, about 200 meters apart, in the heart of the Nuseirat camp.
He said the force had trained repeatedly on a residential building model.
Hagari said the force stormed the two apartments simultaneously in broad daylight, believing it provided the best element of surprise.
But he said rescuers came under heavy fire as they moved out, including from gunmen firing grenade launchers from the neighborhood.
He said the military responded with a heavy force, including from aircraft, to retrieve the rescuers and free the hostages.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz attacked critics of the operation in an X post.
“Only Israel’s enemies complained about the casualties of Hamas terrorists and their accomplices,” he said.
About 120 hostages remain, with 43 declared dead. Among the survivors are about 15 women, two children under the age of 5 and two men in their 80s.
Saturday’s operation brought the total number of rescued hostages to seven, including one who was freed shortly after the October attack. Israeli troops recovered the bodies of at least 16 others, according to the government.
The latest rescue raised some spirits in Israel as divisions deepened over the best way to return the hostages home.
Civilians flee in Rafah as Israel continues its offensive
Netanyahu, whose support has plummeted, rushed to the hospital to congratulate the freed hostages, and his office released a stream of photos and videos of him meeting the families.
But thousands of Israelis gathered again on Saturday night for the latest anti-government demonstration and calls for a ceasefire deal.
It is unclear what effect the rescue might have on the apparently stalled ceasefire efforts.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will return to the Middle East next week looking for a breakthrough.
International pressure is mounting on Israel to limit civilian bloodshed in its war in Gaza. Palestinians also face widespread starvation as fighting and Israeli restrictions have largely cut off the flow of aid.
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