TEL AVIV – Celebrations erupted in Israel with the news that four hostages held by Hamas, including 26-year-old Noa Argamani, were rescued in a high-risk military operation in central Gaza over the weekend.
But for the dozens of families whose relatives remain captive, the news brought mixed feelings: joy for those who were finally reunited with their loved ones after eight long months since they were captured in the Hamas attacks on October 7, but also despair. because their own loved ones were not among those saved.
When she first heard about Saturday’s rescue, Aviva Siegel, who was held hostage by Hamas for weeks before being released as part of a historic deal in November, said she was “so happy I was jumping in the air.”
“Then two minutes later I got to the sad part of the whole story – worrying and worrying about all the hostages,” she told NBC News in an interview in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
Among the more than 100 hostages who remain held by Hamas is her husband, Keith Siegel, one of several dual US-Israeli citizens who remained in Gaza after the couple was taken hostage in kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7.
Saturday’s rescue operation at Nuseirat refugee camp saw Argamani and three others – Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrei Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40 – rescued by Israeli forces and police in a dramatic operation.
But it also left a trail of death and destruction, with more than 270 people killed, including children, according to Gaza health authorities.
Hamas said hostages were also killed in the operation, but did not identify them or provide any evidence to support the claim – and the militant group said the Israeli military’s rescue operation “will have a negative impact on their conditions and lives”, noting up to the remaining hostages.
“It scares me terribly that they are going to hurt them and we won’t even know anything,” Aviva Siegel said.
“We are worried,” Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat, 39, was kidnapped from her parents’ home on kibbutz Be’eri in the October 7 attacks. “In my imagination, the most horrible things are happening to her at any moment.”
Dickmann said he believed the success of the rescue operation should not undermine the need to ensure the safe release of all those still held captive in Gaza.
“The military operation was extraordinary,” he said in a Zoom interview from Tel Aviv. “But the common way to recover hostages is through an agreement.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a meeting on Tuesday with senior Israeli officials and the hostages’ families, praised positive signs in efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages after the Council UN Security Council voted on Monday. to support a proposed deal outlined by President Joe Biden.
Biden administration officials have separately discussed the possibility of negotiating a unilateral agreement with Hamas to secure the release of Americans held hostage in Gaza if current ceasefire negotiations fail, two senior U.S. and two former senior U.S. officials said. .
Dickmann, himself a dual American-Israeli citizen, said that although his cousin is not an American citizen and would not be included in such a unilateral agreement, “I cannot blame the Americans for going to the American administration and asking them for help. .”
“Governments must take care of their own citizens,” he said, urging the Israeli government to also focus on freeing the hostages.
“Time is running out,” he warned, urging both governments to do what they can to move forward with an agreement. “Bring them as quickly as you can.”
Around 250 people were taken hostage in the Hamas attacks on October 7, in which around 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli officials. More than 100 people are thought to remain hostages in Gaza, with at least a quarter of them believed to be dead.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
