Israel's mission to free four hostages from Gaza comes to light.
On Saturday, Israeli military personnel, domestic intelligence agents, and a police special unit conducted simultaneous raids on two structures located 200 meters (650 feet) apart in the Nuseirat camp. This action was taken after reports indicated that kidnapped hostages were being held there.
During the operation, four hostages - Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv - were saved, more than eight months after they were abducted at the Nova music festival on October 7. Regrettably, an Israeli policeman in the counter-terrorism unit was fatally wounded during the mission.
To carry out this rescue mission, Israel had been preparing for weeks, undergoing rigorous training. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) provided updates in a press conference. He disclosed that they even constructed exact replicas of the captives' captivity sites to practice in advance.
There had been numerous cancellations of planned raids, totaling more than three to four instances, due to inopportune circumstances. The Israeli military strategically targeted predesignated militant infrastructure, as the operation commenced during daylight hours to maximize the element of surprise.
According to Hagari, the hostages were extracted in spite of ongoing gunfire, as well as turmoil within the targeted buildings and the Gaza contingency.
Those at the scene in Gaza reported widespread mayhem following the preliminary strikes. Nidal Abdo recalled the shocking ordeal he experienced as he was shopping in Nuseirat when the "crazy bombardment" ensued. He remarked, "There are children ripped apart and scattered across the streets; Nuseirat has been obliterated, it's like hell on earth."
Hostage rescue instances are relatively unusual, and this operation represents the third successful rescue in Israel's history. IDF Corporal Ori Megidish was liberated in October the previous year from northern Gaza, while Fernando Marman and Louis Har were extracted in a February incident from the southern Rafah region.
The quest for a ceasefire and a deal for swapping hostages for Palestinian prisoners has been thwarted, engaging in a deadlock since November. In spite of global objections, Israel pushed ahead with its ground incursion into central Rafah in late February.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas commanded the Palestinian Authority's representative to the United Nations to solicit an urgent session of the UN Security Council to address the "grisly massacre" ascribed to Israel in Nuseirat. An official statement from the Palestinian permanent observer mission to the UN read, "The Israeli assault on the Nuseirat camp has led to the deaths of hundreds of martyrs and severely wounded countless others. President Abbas is now actively networking with relevant Arab and international parties to convene this emergency UN Security Council session."
CNN's Teele Rebane contributed to this story.
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The successful rescue operation in Gaza has sparked international interest, with many nations expressing concern about the situation in the Middle East. Israel's actions in Gaza have also raised concerns within the global community about potential humanitarian issues and the overall stability of the region.
Subsequently, various international organizations have called for an investigation into the incident, aiming to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the operation and its impact on the civilian population in the Middle East.
