The Israeli army announced on Saturday June 8 that it had freed four hostages during a “special operation” in the center of the Gaza Strip, an area targeted by intense bombardments for several days. Israeli police announced shortly after the death of one of their agents during the military operation.
The four freed hostages are Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, all four “abducted” on the site of the Nova electro music festival, according to the army. The hostages, according to the same Source, were ” helped “ in two different places in Nousseirat and are ” in good health “. They were transferred to the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv, “to carry out additional medical examinations”.
“Noa, Almog, Andrey and Shlomi, we are very happy to welcome you home”welcomed, on“heroic”. The Hostage Families Forum welcomed a “miraculous triumph”urging the government and the international community to secure the release of the other hostages.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the operation, proof according to him that Israel “do not give in to terrorism”. “You have proven that Israel does not give in to terrorism and acted with boundless creativity and courage to bring our hostages home”he declared to the attention of the Israeli forces, according to a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, canceled his press conference planned for Saturday evening, said the spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rival, as several Israeli media anticipated an announcement of his resignation from the government.
Nousseirat sector
Before its announcement on the hostages, the Israeli army said on Saturday it was targeting “terrorist infrastructure” in the Nousseirat sector, while witnesses reported shooting from drones and helicopters against the camp. Hamas announces at least 210 deaths in the area where the hostages were freed.
Who are the freed hostages?
Noa Argamani, 26 years old
The image of this Israeli woman screaming ” Do not kill me ! » to Hamas fighters has toured the world. A student at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba (southern Israel), she was kidnapped during the Tribe of Nova rave party. A video later appeared on social media showing her drinking a bottle of water in Gaza. His companion, Avinathan Or, a 30-year-old engineer, is still captive. Noa’s Chinese-Israeli mother, whose days are numbered due to brain cancer, expressed concern in a widely relayed video about not having the opportunity to see her daughter again before she died.
Andrey Kozlov, 27 years old
A resident of Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv, Russian Andrey Kozlov, 27, was participating as a security guard at the Tribe of Nova music festival when the event was stormed on October 7. In contact with his father and friends, he no longer gave any signs of life after 9:00 a.m. His family will be informed three weeks after his kidnapping. Born in Saint Petersburg, he had recently arrived in Israel.
Shlomi Ziv, 41 years old
Shlomi Ziv, who turned 41 since her kidnapping, was part of the security service at the Nova rave organized in the desert, according to the Israeli press. One of his two sisters spoke to him at 7:30 a.m. on the day of the attack. He told her that he was fine, that he was trying to escape by car but that there was a traffic jam leaving the festival area. Her last conversation took place a little later, with her other sister. Looking out of breath, he told her ” I’ll call you back “.
He had gone to the festival with two friends, who were also providing security for the festival, and were killed. Shlomi Ziv lived with his wife near the Lebanese border, in moshav Elkosh. He worked as a wholesale distributor but had recently successfully completed studies to become an interior designer.
Almog Meir Jan, 22 years old
Originally from Or Yehuda, a small town east of Tel Aviv, Almog Meir Jan, 22, was participating in the festival when armed men burst in. On October 7, at 7:45 a.m., the cell phone of his mother, Orit Meir, rang. It’s his son on the phone: “Mom, rockets are falling everywhere. I don’t know what’s going on. I love you mom “, said Ms. Meir a month later. Then, in a short video published by Hamas, she acknowledges ” immediately “ his son. “He was lying on the ground. He was terrified, terrified”. “My son went to a party and he was kidnapped (…) Our life became a nightmare”testified his mother.
