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On June 8, four Israeli hostages were rescued alive by the IDF from Hamas captivity in the central Gaza Strip. The rescued hostages are Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), Shlomi Ziv (40), and Noa Argamani (25). All four were abducted by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova music festival near the southern community of Re’im on October 7. All four hostages were in captivity for 8 months.
On October 7, Hamas invaded Israel by air, land, and sea. Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 Israelis and abducted around 253 people. As a result of October 7, the war started. The IDF troops are in Gaza to return the hostages home and dismantle Hamas. Israel and the world many at times urge Hamas to release the hostages, but they do not listen. It has been 8 months since the troops were in Gaza.
Here’s How The IDF Rescued Four Hostages Alive
The special operation was carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the National Police Special Anti-Terror Squad unit of Yamam, Shin Bet (Israel’s domestic secret service) agents, and the Israel Police. According to the IDF and The Times of Israel report, the special rescue operation happened in the heart of Nuseirat in central Gaza. The operation took weeks of planning to bring back four hostages.
How did the IDF pull off the dangerous rescue mission? Let’s have a closer look.
After the mission, the IDF’s X handle (formerly Twitter) posted a video of IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stating the operation. In the video, Daniel Hagari said, “This was a high-risk, complex mission based on precise intelligence conducted in daylight.” According to the statement, he said, the hostages were held in two apartments away from each other deep inside Gaza.
According to Hagari, the operation went smoothly in the building where the military found Noa. But while rescuing three male hostages, they were met with crossfire. The IDF forces were attacked with rocket-firing propelled grenades and other weapons from within the neighborhood. Hagari said the IDF responded with a heavy force, including aircraft, to extract the rescuers and free the hostages. However, in the operation, an officer was critically injured and later died.
Celebrations Erupt In Israel
As soon as the news broke out that four hostages had been rescued by the IDF, cheers and happiness erupted on sidewalks and beaches across Israel. Many crowds formed outside the hospitals where the hostages were treated. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel visited all the hostages in the hospital. The PM saluted the forces for the rescue op. Israelis and the families of the hostages have been waiting for eight months to see their loved ones.
In these eight months, there was little to no sign of whether the hostages still held in Gaza were alive or not. But now, the successful rescue mission of the IDF has brought four hostages back to Israel, their home. As a result of the mission, Israel’s hope has been strengthened. Because the hostages are home, all Israelis are overjoyed. The hashtag #bringthemHome, images, and posts of hostages have been trending for weeks and months on various social media platforms.
The Stories of Rescued Hostages
Almog Meir Jan: He’s from a small town near Tel Aviv. He had just finished his army service three months before October 7. The forums set up by families say he was supposed to start a job the day after the inhumane attack, but he was abducted.
Noa Argamani: She has become an icon after enduring eight months in Hamas captivity. Her video of October 7 was widely shared, in which she can be seen being forcefully abducted on a motorcycle. Noa is finally reunited with her mother, Liora, who has terminal cancer. It was Liora’s dream to see Noa, again.
Andrey Kozlov: He was working as a security guard at the Supernova Music Festival. Reports say that he had immigrated alone from Russia to Israel a year and a half earlier. His mother came to Israel after hearing about 7 October.
Shlomi Ziv: He is from a farming community in northern Israel. The Times of Israel reported that he was working as a security personnel at a desert party. He went to the party with two others, who were both killed by Hamas terrorists.