Four Israeli hostages taken from music festival freed after Gaza raid

Four Israeli hostages kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7 were rescued in a raid in central Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, were freed in a high risk operation from two buildings in the Nuseirat area.

The rescued hostages are in good condition and have been taken to hospital for further medical evaluation. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported numerous casualties, including children, resulting from the operation, with significant injuries shown in images and footage.

Medical staff at Al-Aqsa hospital are struggling to manage the influx of casualties with limited resources, as described by the ministry on Facebook.

Meanwhile, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the mission was based on precise intelligence and that Israeli forces encountered gunfire during the operation. One Israeli soldier was seriously injured, Hagari mentioned in a televised news conference.

During its attacks in southern Israel last October, Hamas killed approximately 1,200 people and captured around 251 hostages. Currently, around 116 hostages remain in Palestinian territory, including 41 that the Israeli army reports are deceased.

In November, an agreement led to the release of 105 hostages by Hamas in exchange for a week-long ceasefire and the release of about 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

As of Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry reported that the death toll in Gaza has reached 36,801 people.