The Israeli army released four hostages on June 8 morning who were held in Nusseirat in the center of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian terrorist movement Hamas reported more than 270 people killed during this operation but did not mention the release of hostages. For its part, the Israeli police deplored the death of one of its agents as a result of his injuries.
The freed hostages are Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41. They were kidnapped from the site of the Nova electro music festival, during the attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the release of the hostages was proof that Israel was not giving in “in the face of terrorism.”
The political leader of Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, affirmed from Doha that the “resistance” would “continue”.
According to Israel, it was “one of the most complicated hostage rescue missions in history.” The operation was called “Summer seeds” but renamed “Operation Arnon” following the death of one of the participants.
The hostages were held in a heavily populated area, in buildings of 3 to 4 floors. The forces stormed two separate targets where the hostages were being held, with Noa held on the first floor of one building and Andrey, Shlomi and Almog on the third floor of another building, located about 200 meters from the first. For details, the female hostage was entrusted by Hamas to Palestinian families but the men were placed under the armed guard of members of the terrorist movement.
Hamas repeatedly moved the four hostages and the fear was that if forces stormed just one building, the terrorists would escape with the hostages from the second building or even worse, murder them…
The Air Force had been collecting aerial intelligence in recent days and the IDF and Shin Bet created the necessary conditions to hit the targets without the terrorists being able to shoot down the hostages.
It appears that the lead element which was responsible for the first contact with the hostages was part of the “Yamam”, the Israeli national counter-terrorism unit.
It would also be the leader of the element which intervened in the building where Andrey, Almog and Shlomi were detained, chief inspector Arnon Zamora who died of his wounds.
The guards were all neutralized.
Note that nine Yamam members died during the Palestinian raid of October 7, 2023 and one during an operation carried out in Toulkarem (West Bank) in May.
For Noa Argamani, the recovery was able to take place more calmly (presumably, the family who guarded her was not armed).
Still according to the IDF: “The forces simultaneously broke into the two buildings […] Immediately after extracting the hostages, forces began to withdraw while battling dozens of terrorists, but a vehicle with the three hostages became stuck and came under heavy fire. »
The forces of the 98e Ha-Hesh Division then intervened to help extract the vehicle’s occupants, and helicopters penetrated deep into the Gaza Strip in broad daylight. They came under fire – including from portable missiles – but did not suffer significant damage.
In addition to the men of the 98e Division, elements of other units were engaged including those of the 7e “Saar me-Golan” armored brigade, of the 99e “Kfir” Infantry Brigade and Flotilla (Shayetet) 13…
The operation itself was supervised by the Shin Bet and Yamam with direct support from the IDF.
Cooperation with the Shin Bet and Yamam has risen several levels into a single operational system, under the leadership of Shin Bet Chief Ronen Baret and Chief of Staff General Herzi Alevi. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given authorization to intervene the previous evening.
From left to right: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Director of the Shin Bet internal security agency Ronen Bar, in the special operations room overseeing the hostage rescue mission on June 8, 2024. (Shin Bet Internal Security Agency)
The four keys to the operation were diversion, surprise, determination and power.
To maintain the secrecy of the operation, thousands of soldiers who participated in it were unaware of its purpose before it began. Only a handful of commanders were informed the day before.
The rescue took place under heavy fire and during the exfiltration, dozens of heavily armed terrorists rushed towards the clash zone. The exchanges of fire were heavy and uninvolved Gazan civilians were also killed.
The Israelis deplore one death and several injured.
Faced with the media counter-offensive led by Hamas, Washington denied the fact that the Gaza aid dock intended to deliver humanitarian aid was used in this operation. For its part, Israel also denied having used humanitarian aid trucks for the hostage release mission.
In Israel, Benny Gantz, the former army chief who became Benjamin Netanyahu’s political rival, announced his resignation from the war cabinet on June 9.
