DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel on Saturday carried out its largest hostage rescue operation since the latest war with Hamas began, taking four to safety out of central Gaza amid the military’s heavy air and ground assault. At least 94 dead Palestinians, including children, were brought to local hospitals, a health official said. Israelis were jubilant as the army said it freed Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40, in a daytime operation in the heart of Nuseirat, raiding two locations at once while under fire.
All were well, the military said. They were taken by helicopter for medical checks and tearful reunions with loved ones after 246 days held. Argamani had been one of the most widely recognized hostages after being taken, like the three others, from a music festival.
The video of her abduction, among the first to surface, showed her seated between two men on a motorcycle as she screamed, “Don’t kill me!” Her mother, Liora, has stage four brain cancer and in April released a video pleading to see her daughter before she dies. Her father, Yaakov, on Saturday praised the “most moral army in the world” for her return. In a video message released by the government, an elated Argamani told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone she was “very excited,” saying she hasn’t heard Hebrew in so long.
Netanyahu in a statement vowed to continue the fighting until all hostages are freed. The operation was “daring in nat.
