Inside one of the ‘most complicated hostage rescue missions in history’ that saved four captured Israelis
The four Israeli hostages rescued from Hamas on Saturday were saved in an audacious effort that involved several days of highly covert preparations and even a diversionary operation to distract the terrorists, officials said.
Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andri Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were saved during the “Summer Seeds” operation in Nuseirat, central Gaza, at 11 a.m. local time Saturday, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced.
In the days leading up to the raid, the elite Yaman unit drilled various means of extraction, which military officials compared to the 1976 Entebbe raid in Uganda, the Times of Israel reported.
The military also launched an operation to the east of Nuseirat in an apparent effort to reduce Hamas’ manpower in the city, the outlet explained.
When the order was given Saturday morning, Yamam officers simultaneously entered the two structures in the city, where the four hostages were being held above ground in three- to four-story buildings, the Times of Israel reported.
The decision was made to enter the buildings – which were about 650 feet apart – at the same time in the hopes of avoiding the possibility of the Hamas guards murdering the hostages after catching wind of a rescue operation nearby.
The soldiers were reportedly armed with weapons specifically designed for the operation, Israeli writer Hen Mazzig said on X.
Argamani was found on the first floor of one structure, while the three men were discovered on the third floor of another building, he added.
Hamas supposedly pays Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip to keep the hostages in their homes, the Times of Israel said, citing the IDF.
The rescue of Jan, Kozlov, and Ziv resulted in a “major gun battle,” during which Yamam officer Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora was critically wounded.
Zamora later died of his wounds, and the operation was formally renamed “Operation Arnon” in his honor.
The Hamas guards at the second scene were also killed in the exchange, the Times of Israel reported.
The vehicle carrying the three male hostages came under fire a short time later.
Footage shared by the IDF showed the heart-stopping moment a helicopter swooped down and extracted the men from a temporary helipad.
All four hostages were transferred to the Tel Hashomer Hospital in central Israel, where they reunited with their loved ones.
Over 200 Palestinian civilians were killed and over 400 others wounded in the operation, according to the Hamas-linked officials in Gaza, CNN said.
Aside from Zamora, several other Israeli officers were also wounded, mostly light injuries from shrapnel.
“The difference between success and failure in such an operation is a hair’s breadth, and we relied on exceptional technology from the Intelligence and Shin Bet. Without ground activity and maneuvering in the Gazan area, it would not have been possible to succeed in such operations,” the IDF statement read.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the public later on Saturday, saying that the operation was “very complex and dangerous.”
“But I approved it without hesitation because I trust the IDF, the Shin Bet, the Israel Police, the fighting heroes of the Shin Bet and the National Counter-Terrorism Unit,” he insisted, according to Haaretz.
The White House also commended the Israel Defense Force’s “daring” rescue in a formal statement issued Saturday morning.
“The hostage release and ceasefire deal that is now on the table would secure the release of all the remaining hostages together with security assurances for Israel and relief for the innocent civilians in Gaza,” the write-up added.
