“The Nuseirat camp massacre“. So the Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemned the operation by Israeli security forces to rescue the four hostages who were later releasedbut which led to the killing of over 200 Palestinians according to Hamas.
The ministry also called on the international community to “act immediately to put an end to the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza.”
Israel: “Attacks continue in Gaza against Deir el-Balah”
Meanwhile, the Israeli army says that military operations continue in Deir el-Balah and Bureij. In a situation update on Telegram, the IDF said fighter jets were “striking numerous terrorist targets in the area, as well as armed terrorists who posed a threat” to Israeli troops.
In southern Rafah, troops from the 162nd Division are continuing “targeted intelligence-based operations” and locating “tunnel shafts” and weapons. In central Gaza, troops continue to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure and eliminate terrorists.” The army added that “numerous mortar shells” were fired at troops in the Islamic University area in southern Gaza City, but no injuries were reported and the launcher was dismantled.
Who are the 4 freed hostages: Noa is also there
Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. They are the 4 hostages freed by the Israeli army in an operation in the center of the Gaza Strip. They were kidnapped on October 7 during the Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival. The operation was conducted by special forces who carried out simultaneous raids on Hamas sites in Nuseirat (VIDEO). Upon initial medical evaluation, the medical conditions of the four appeared good, but they have now been taken to hospital for further checks.
The 25-year-old Israeli Noa, kidnapped by Hamas during the festival and became a symbol of October 7, then hugged her father again on the bus that took her to the Tel Hashomer hospital immediately after being freed together with the other three hostages (VIDEO). This is what a video posted on social media shows.
“Immense and incredible joy, on the one hand. On the other hand, Avinatan is still there and it hurts: it is a great and moving miracle,” Galia Dekal, sister of Avinatan Or, Noa Argamani’s partner, told Ynet News, with which he was kidnapped and who still remains hostage. Dekal, in her interview with the Israeli newspaper, referred to the fact that Noa was the last Israeli to see her brother alive and said: “From what we know, they were separated from the first moment. It’s chilling.”
Noa was kidnapped last October at a rave in the Negev desert. The 25-year-old student had become one of the best-known faces of the crisis after the spread of the video in which she was taken away by Hamas on the back pillion 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. Today the images of Noa’s embrace with her father Yaakov were released.
Together with Noa, Almog and Shlomi, Andrei Kozlov, another of the Supernova participants, was also freed. Kozlov, who is 27 years old, born in St. Petersburg, and had only moved to Israel a year and a half ago last fall, was working security at the event. At the time of the Hamas raid, he was communicating via text messages with his father, who he told him he could hear gunfire around him. He had written a dramatic message to some friends in which he declared that he had nowhere to hide. The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, also spoke out for his release, as well as that of three other hostages with Russian citizenship, Aleksandr Lobanov and Aleksandr Trufanov. Kozlov had come to Israel on a Masa internship program. He lived in Rishon Lezion, outside Tel Aviv. His mother moved to Israel after his kidnapping.
Father Almog Meir died a few hours before his son was freed
Almog Meir, 21, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were also kidnapped at the rave. Meir, like Noa, was at the rave as a guest, Ziv, like Kozlov, to work. The 21-year-old’s father died a few hours before being able to see his son again, writes Ynet News, adding that at “noon they went to give Yossi Jan the good news of the release of his kidnapped son but found him unconscious”.
“Magen David Adom’s rescuers – adds the Israeli newspaper – who intervened on site confirmed the man’s death. Forensic teams also intervened on site to ascertain the causes of death”.
Ziv, married for 17 years with his wife Meran, is an interior designer and was about to start a new job when he accepted another one, to help his wife’s cousin, Aviv Eliyahu, at the festival. The latter, who was director of security, was killed. Meir is a resident of Or Yehuda in central Israel. She was excited for the Rave she had been looking forward to for months. At 7.45 in the morning on October 7, he called her mother, Orit, to ask her to turn on the television. “The army ended the party. There are rockets coming from all directions and shooting at us. I don’t know what’s happening but I will try to call you every hour. I love you,” she told her.
Hamas: “210 Palestinians killed in the blitz”
At least 210 people were killed and more than 400 injured in the IDF raid. Khalil Al-Dakran, director of the al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central area of Gaza, told Xinhua that many wounded Palestinians were sent to the hospital, and that some of them were confirmed dead. In a statement on Saturday, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, denounced the Israeli assault in the Nuseirat area as “a complex war crime”. Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’s political bureau, also condemned the deadly Israeli attack, stressing that the Palestinian people “will not give up and the resistance will continue to defend their rights.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the hostage rescue operation had been planned for weeks and was conducted jointly by the army with the elite police unit and the Shin Bet intelligence body, underlining that a police officer was killed during the operation.
Gantz freezes his resignation
After the news of the release of the four hostages, the war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, instead canceled the speech during which, according to all predictions, he would have announced the withdrawal of his party’s support for the Netanyahu government. “My thoughts go to all the families of the hostages, we are committed to doing everything we can to bring them home”, said the minister, declaring that he had “a full heart” for the release of the four hostages today in Gaza. “I want to commend the soldiers of the Israeli forces, Yaman, Shin Bet for the complicated and courageous operation which was admirably planned and executed,” he added. “Alongside the justified joy for the result achieved, we must remember – he underlined a few minutes after the tweet with which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged him not to leave the war cabinet – that all the challenges that Israel must face have remained as they are . Therefore, I say to the Prime Minister and all the leadership, even today we must responsibly consider how it is best and possible to move forward from here.”
Israel extends broadcast ban, Al Jazeera banned for another 45 days
Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel will remain closed for another 45 days, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi announced on X, saying he is “convinced” that the broadcast ban will also be extended in the future.
Karhi thanked Prime Minister Netanyahu and the government on social media for approving the extension. “We will not allow the terrorist channel Al Jazeera to broadcast in Israel and endanger our fighters. I have now signed the extension of the orders banning Al Jazeera channel broadcasts in Israel,” the minister wrote.
Al Jazeera sent a response to the minister through his lawyers, rejecting this decision and denying all accusations and justifications on which the minister based his decision. The ban was condemned internationally. The Americans – writes the Qatari broadcaster – spoke about the importance of freedom of the press. The European Union, Britain and most Western nations have questioned the wisdom of the ban and called on Israel to lift it.
