Israel says it safely rescued four hostages who were captured by Hamas during the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The IDF said the hostages, three men and a woman, were rescued in the largest hostage recovery operation since the war with Hamas began in Gaza.
Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Shlomi Ziv, 41, and Andrey Kozlov, 27, were rescued in two separate locations in a complex daytime special operation in the heart of Nuseirat, central Gaza . They had been held captive by the terrorist group for 246 days.
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Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Shlomi Ziv, 41, and Andrey Kozlov, 27, were rescued in two separate locations in a complex daytime special operation in the heart of Nuseirat, central Gaza . (IDF)
Argamani has been one of the most recognizable hostages since she was kidnapped at a music festival in southern Israel. 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.
Officers from the special anti-terrorism unit of the Yamam National Police, along with Shin Bet officers, simultaneously raided two Hamas buildings to bring the hostages to safety. Argamani was rescued in one place, while Meir Jan, Kozlov and Ziv were in second place.
Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora died during the raid. (IDF)
During the operation, Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, an officer in Yamam's special anti-terrorism unit, was seriously injured and later died from his injuries.
There are still 120 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Forty-three of them have been declared dead and their bodies are still in the hands of Hamas.
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Hostage Andrey Kozlov getting off a helicopter after being rescued from Hamas (Gideon Markowicz/TPS-IL)
“Noa, Almog, Andrey and Shlomi – we are delighted to have them home,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.
“Our troops carried out a heroic operation to rescue four hostages held by Hamas and brought them home to Israel.”
“I followed the complex operation from the command and control center: the IDF, ISA and Special Forces operated with extraordinary courage under intense fire and managed to complete their mission. Israel's defense system will continue fighting until 120 hostages return home “.
Gallant later described the mission as the “most heroic and extraordinary operations” he had witnessed over the course of his 47 years of service in Israel's defense system.
Almog Jan Meir reunited with his family (IDF)
The Hostage Families Forum headquarters welcomed the news and praised the Israeli government.
“The heroic IDF operation that freed and brought home Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov and Almog Meir Jan is a miraculous triumph,” read a statement from the group.
“Now, with joy flooding Israel, the Israeli government must remember its commitment to bring back the 120 hostages still held by Hamas: those alive for rehabilitation, those murdered for burial.”
“We continue to call on the international community to apply the necessary pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed agreement and release the other 120 hostages held captive; every day is a day too far.”
Noa Argamani is seen hugging her father, whose birthday is today. (IDF)
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari of the Israel Defense Forces said it was a “complex and high-risk mission” to rescue the hostages, which took place around 11 a.m. local time.
“While we were under fire on buildings and under fire on the way out of Gaza, our forces rescued our hostages,” Hagari said. “Israeli forces have been preparing for this rescue mission for weeks…they risked their lives to save the lives of our hostages. This is what we do in Israel.”
He said Israel will not stop until all the hostages are rescued. Hagari said the four were taken to the hospital for a medical examination and will soon be reunited with their families.
“They are back in Israel, they are alive and well.”
The four hostages were kidnapped at the NOVA festival.
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approves the operation to rescue the hostages together with IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, Head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate Major General Aharon Haliva and Major General (Res.) Nitsan. Only. (Ariel Hermoni/IMoD)
Noa Argamani is from Be'er Sheva and was kidnapped along with her boyfriend Avinatan Or, who remains held captive by Hamas. She is a yoga and art enthusiast, she enjoys hiking and was studying information systems management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev at the time of her abduction.
Almog Meir Jan is from Or Yehuda and was expected to start working at a large high-tech company the day after the terrorist attack.
Shlomi Ziv, of Moshav Elkosh, was working as a security guard on October 7. Ziv and his wife Miren have been living in the Moshav for about 17 years.
Andrey Kozlov, is from Rishon LeZion and was also working as a security guard that day. Kozlov is a recent immigrant to Israel who made aliyah alone, without his family, about a year and a half ago. Aliyah is “the act of going up” toward the Jewish holy city of Jerusalem.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Benjamin Netanyahu in the operations room during the hostage mission (ISA (Shin Bet))
