Four Israeli hostages were freed by the Israeli army in a raid conducted by the IDF in the central Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel reports. They are Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv, kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 while attending the Supernova music festival near the southern community of Reim.
Special forces simultaneously raided two Hamas sites in Nuseirat. Meir Jan, Kozlov and Ziv were all together in a hideout. The hostages are all in good condition, according to initial medical assessments. They were taken to Tel Hashomer hospital for further evaluation. During the operation, heavy air strikes were carried out in the area against Hamas sites and in support of ground troops. Hamas health authorities reported a “large number” of casualties.
Who are the four freed hostages?
Noa Argamani, 25 years old, had become one of the symbolic faces of October 7 after the release of the video in which she was taken away by Hamas on the back seat of a motorcycle, snatched from her boyfriend’s hands. A ten-second clip in which the girl is seen in tears. Noa’s mother is an oncology patient with a brain tumor. Her greatest wish in recent months has been to live long enough to see her daughter home again.
Almog Meir Jan, 21 years old, had finished his military service three months before his capture. He was also picked up from the party.
Andrey Kozlov, 27, was working as a security guard at the rave when he was caught. He is a new immigrant to Israel, where he had arrived about a year and a half ago. Shlomi Ziv, 40 years, as Kozlov worked on the security of the party in the desert. He had gone to the Supernova with Aviv Eliyahu, a relative of his wife, and Jake Marlowe, a friend, both killed in the Hamas raid.
Gantz cancels tonight’s speech
After the news of the release of the four hostages, the war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, canceled this evening’s speech, during which, according to all predictions, he would have announced the withdrawal of his party’s support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Noa, the hug with the father and the phone call with Netanyahu and Hoerzog
A video posted on social media shows Noa Argamani hugging her father again on the bus that took her to Tel Hashomer hospital immediately after being freed. “We didn’t give you up for lost even for a moment. I don’t know if you believed it, but we believed it and I’m happy that it happened,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in the phone call with the 25-year-old who became the symbol of the October 7 attacks. “Reconnect with your family, and hug your mother too,” added the Israeli prime minister, speaking to the girl who said she was “very excited” to speak Hebrew again. “In Hebrew and at home this is important,” Netanyahu added. President Isasc Herzog also spoke to Noa about her, telling her that she “embraces her on behalf of the entire nation of Israel.”
