(Updated with new Hamas assessment)
by Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi
Four Israeli hostages were rescued by the IDF during an operation in the Gaza Strip, while more than 200 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in the same area, according to Hamas officials.
It was not immediately clear whether the release of the hostages and the Israeli airstrike were part of the same operation, but both took place in the area of the Nusseirat refugee camp.
An Israeli army spokesman said the operation to free the hostages took place under heavy fire in the heart of a residential neighborhood, where he said Hamas had hidden captives among civilians, guarded by armed militants.
Israeli forces responded, including with airstrikes, added spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. An Israeli special forces commander was killed during the operation, police said.
These hostages, three men and a woman, were kidnapped while participating in the “Tribes of Nova” music festival on October 7 during attacks orchestrated by Hamas which left around 1,400 dead.
Israel named the freed hostages as Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41. They were taken to hospital for medical examinations and are in good health, the army said.
The press service of the Hamas-led government in Gaza said the airstrike left at least 210 Palestinians dead and even more injured. Doctors and health service officials have so far reported around a hundred deaths. Gaza’s health ministry did not immediately confirm the higher figure.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Nayera Abdallah in Dubai; written by John Davison; French version Nicolas Delame and Jean-Michel Bélot)
