JERUSALEM — Israel said on Saturday it rescued four hostages who were kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, in the largest hostage recovery operation since the war with Hamas began in Gaza.
The military said it rescued Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir January, 21; Andrei Kozlov, 27 years old; and Shlomi Ziv, 40, in a complex daytime special operation in Nuseirat. The hostages were rescued at two separate locations in the heart of Nuseirat, he said.
Hamas kidnapped about 250 hostages during its attack on southern Israel on October 7, which sparked the war between Israel and Hamas. About half were freed after a week-long ceasefire in November. Israel says more than 130 hostages remain, with around a quarter of them believed dead, and divisions are deepening in the country over how best to bring them home.
The rescue comes as international pressure mounts on Israel to limit civil bloodshed in its war in Gaza, which reached its eighth month on Friday. Seeking a breakthrough in the seemingly stagnant ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, USA Secretary of State Antony Blinken He will return to the Middle East next week.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza Ministry of Healththat does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its figures.
Saturday’s operation is the largest recovery of live hostages since the war broke out, bringing the total of captives rescued to seven.
Two men were rescued in February when troops stormed a heavily guarded apartment in a densely populated city and another hostage, a woman, was rescued after the October attack. According to the government, Israeli troops have so far recovered at least 16 bodies of hostages from Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces increasing pressure to end the fighting in Gaza, with many Israelis urging him to accept a deal announced last month by US President Joe Biden, but far-reaching allies Right threaten to collapse his government if he does so.
One of those rescued on Saturday, Argamani, has been one of the most recognized hostages since she was kidnapped from a Music festival.
The video of her kidnapping was one of the first to come to light, and images of her horrified face were widely shared: Argamani held between two men on a motorcycle, with one arm extended and the other pressed down as she screams “I don’t care.” math!”
Her mother, Liora, has stage four brain cancer and in April she posted a video pleading to see her daughter before she dies.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
