CNN
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The Israeli army said four hostages had been freed in a special operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, while Palestinian authorities reported more than 100 people had been killed in attacks in the area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that the four – Noa Al-Ghamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrei Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv – had been rescued from two locations in Nuseirat by Israeli army, intelligence and special forces.
The Israel Defense Forces said the four were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7.
“They are in good health and have been transferred to Sheva Tel Hashomer Medical Center for further medical examinations,” the IDF added.
News of the rescue came shortly after Israeli forces announced operations in Nuseira and other areas in central Gaza, where heavy shelling and artillery fire has been reported.
At least 107 people were killed as a result of Saturday’s operations in Nusairat, Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaideh, according to a spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
Hostage rescues are rare and this is the third successful operation: IDF Corporal Ori Megidish was rescued from the northern Gaza Strip in October last year, and in another operation on February 12 this year, Ferdinand Mallman and Louis Haar were rescued from southern Rafah.
One member of the group, Noor al-Ghamani, 25, became one of the symbols of the October 7 attack after a video was released showing her screaming and pleading from the seat of a motorbike as a group of Hamas fighters drove off with her in tow.
The video shows Al-Ghamani’s boyfriend, Abinatan Or, also an Israeli national, being taken away and kidnapped by Hamas fighters.
Noah’s mother, Liora Arughamani, is Chinese and is battling terminal brain cancer. In a video released last November, she made a desperate plea to be able to see her daughter one more time.
“We don’t know how much time we have left. We want the chance to see Noah at home,” his mother said, calling on US President Joe Biden to press for her daughter’s release.
Al-Ghamani’s family had previously received proof that she was still alive: she appeared in a series of Hamas propaganda videos released in January this year.
Video footage shows Al-Ghamani hugging her father after her release, and she also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone, who told her: “We have not given up on you, not even for a moment.”
Of the others who were released,
– Almog Meir JanThe 22-year-old from Or Yehuda, a small town outside Tel Aviv, was due to start a new job at a technology company on October 8.
– Shlomi ZivZiv, 41, was working as a security guard at the Nova Festival when he was kidnapped on October 7. He had lived in the local moshav (agricultural settlement) with his wife, Milen, for 17 years.
– Andrey KozlovThe 27-year-old is a Russian national who moved to Israel a year ago. He also worked as a security guard at Nova Festival.
The rescue of the hostages captured in the October 7 Hamas attack remains the main objective of the Israeli military operation in Gaza.
Saturday’s announcement brings the total number of hostages held in the Gaza Strip since October 7 to now 116, at least 41 of whom have died.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
