How Israel pulled off 'Operation Arnon' to rescue October 7 hostages By Natasha Anderson Published: 06:30 EDT, 10 June 2024 | Updated: 06:30 EDT, 10 June 2024 e-mail Advertisement Israel has carried out its largest rescue operation since the Hamas war began, taking four hostages to safety out of central Gaza in a heavy air and ground assault. Israeli forces pulled off the daring Operation Seeds of Summer mission in broad daylight on Saturday after raiding a heavily-guarded refugee camp in the heart of Nuseirat whilst under fire. Undercover operatives from Yamam, the secretive antiterrorism unit of the Israeli police, and Shin Bet, Israel's equivalent of MI5, simultaneously raided two apartments in Nuseirat after smuggling themselves into the overcrowded refugee camp, The Sunday Times reported.
The plain-clothed rescuers came under heavy fire as they moved out, including from gunmen firing rocket-propelled grenades from within the neighborhood. Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were then extracted by helicopter during the 'complex' mission, which an Israeli Army spokesman has described has being 'like a surgical brain operation'. The hostages had been held in captivity for 245 days after being abducted from the Nova music festival during Hamas' October 7 attack that sparked war.
They were then reunited with loved ones in emotional scenes at a hospital in Tel Aviv. Israel's Defence Forces (IDF) said it freed the four hostages in a dayt.