Israel celebrates successful hostage recovery.
It's been eight months since the horrific terror attack on October 7, 2023, and four months since the last hostages were freed from Gaza. Hope for the more than 100 people still being captured by terrorists is dwindling. However, the recent release of four hostages in Gaza has brought a sense of relief and happiness in Israel.
The release of these four hostages after eight months in captivity in Gaza has caused a wave of celebration in Israel. Not only families of the hostages and politicians reacted with joy, but ordinary citizens did as well. On a beach in Tel Aviv, people applauded and cheered when they heard the news over the local coast guard's public address system. The media also shared videos of tearful relatives and friends of the hostages reacting to the news.
The Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons praised the "heroic operation of the Israeli Defense Forces" responsible for freeing Noa Agramani, Schlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov, and Almog Meir Jan, calling it a "heroic triumph." With this great news, the Israeli government must now remember their responsibility to bring back the remaining 120 hostages still held by Hamas – both the living and the deceased. Defense Minister Joav Gallant expressed his pleasure on Twitter, and President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu also shared their sentiments.
Everyone involved in the rescue operation, including intelligence, police, and military, were commended for their efforts. These forces freed the four hostages in two large-scale operations in the Gaza Strip that morning. The Israeli police confirmed that one officer was killed during the operation. Reports claim that at least 94 people were killed and 200 were injured during the Israeli rescue operation, according to the Palestinian director of the Al-Aksa Hospital. The army is now looking into these allegations.
Fulfilling the dying mother's wish
With Noa Agramani, Schlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov, and Almog Meir Jan returning to Israel, it's the first time in four months that hostages have come home alive from Gaza. The last time hostages were forcefully rescued was in February, and Israeli forces have managed to free only seven out of the initially more than 250 captives. Hamas has only released hostages once as part of an exchange involving Palestinian prisoners in November. Since then, negotiations for further exchanges have failed, and more Hamas casualties were reported. It's unclear how many hostages are still alive in Gaza.
Agramani, a 25-year-old, had become the face of the cruelty of Hamas and the suffering of the hostages after her kidnapping was captured in a viral video by terrorists at the Nova Music Festival in the south of Israel. The festival itself came under attack by those same terrorists, which resulted in the deaths of several hundred people. Most recently, the terminally ill mother of Noa Agramani briefly appeared in media begging to see her daughter one last time before her passing.
Hamas, who initiated the ongoing Gaza war with their terror attack on Israel on October 7, sees the recent hostage release as a sign of Israel's failure. A senior Hamas official told Reuters that "releasing four prisoners after nine months of fighting is a sign of failure, not a success."
