The Israeli army’s mission to rescue four hostages was a rare operation that required weeks of planning and received the final go-ahead just minutes before it began Saturday morning, according to Israeli officials.
Israeli special forces, backed by the army, intelligence and air force, attacked two buildings several hundred meters apart in a civilian neighborhood of Nuseirat in central Gaza. They brought home the four hostages: Noa Argamani, 26 years old; Almog Meir, January, 22; Andrei Kozlov, 27 years old; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, alive and in good health. A police officer, part of the force that led the raid, died.
Dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, died during the rescue operation, according to local Gaza health officials. The Israeli military said it had attacked militants who had threatened its forces as they tried to extract the hostages. Neither the Israeli military nor Palestinian health officials provided a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed in the attack.
Israeli troops have devastated much of Gaza since their ground invasion began in late October. But they have only managed to rescue seven live hostages in three separate military operations, and approximately 120 captives remain in Gaza. Several proposed rescue missions were not carried out for fear that hostages or forces would be killed in the process, according to two Israeli defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate operation.
In December, Israeli special forces attempted to rescue a hostage from Hamas captivity, according to the two defense officials. Sahar Baruch, an Israeli hostage, was killed during the exchange of fire and two Israeli officers were seriously wounded.
According to one of the defense officials, Israeli intelligence first learned that Ms. Argamani was being held in a high-rise building near the Nuseirat market area. Further information received later indicated that three other hostages were in another building in the same section, the official added.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s military spokesman, said Israeli officials had worked for weeks to assemble the pieces needed for the mission. Israeli soldiers trained intensively based on models of the buildings where the hostages were believed to be held, he added.
“This was a mission in the heart of a civilian neighborhood, where Hamas had intentionally hidden between houses where there were civilians and armed militants guarding hostages,” Admiral Hagari said. “And we must act in a way that those hostages return alive.”
Over the past three weeks, there were several occasions when carrying out the operation seemed possible, but all attempts were canceled before Israeli forces were ready to launch the mission, the two Israeli defense officials said.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defense Minister, met again with senior defense officials to discuss the risks of the operation and possible scenarios, said a third Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The country’s leaders gave the green light to the rescue mission that night, the official said. But there was still a chance it could be canceled at the last minute, Admiral Hagari said.
On Saturday morning, Herzi Halevi, chief of the army general staff, and Ronen Bar, director of Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service, gave the final go-ahead just minutes before the operation began around 11 a.m. tomorrow, Admiral Hagari said.
He added that they chose to move in daylight, approaching the two buildings in Nuseirat, in an attempt to catch Hamas off guard, as the armed group could expect such an operation to take place at night.
The raid began simultaneously at both buildings, where the hostages were in locked rooms and surrounded by armed guards, Admiral Hagari said. In a building where Argamani was being held, officers managed to take her Hamas captors by surprise, he said. In the other, Israeli forces engaged in a difficult firefight before reaching the three remaining hostages, he added.
As they recovered the captives, officers announced over the radio that “the diamonds are in our hands,” using an assigned code word, Admiral Hagari said.
They left the buildings as Hamas militants shot at them and fired rocket-propelled grenades, Admiral Hagari said. Officers shielded the hostages with their bodies to try to protect them, and Israeli aircraft attacked in and around the area, targeting the militants, he added.
Khalil Daqran, a local official at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, told reporters that many Palestinians were killed and wounded during the attacks near the Nuseirat market, which he said was crowded with passersby.
Admiral Hagari said he had been told the military was aware of Palestinian casualties resulting from the operation and could not confirm how many were militants. He added that Hamas had attempted to fire at Israeli forces from behind civilians.
He added that “the cynical way in which Hamas is using the population also to fire on our forces” was “tragic.”
The hostages were taken by car to two waiting helicopters, Admiral Hagari said. Mrs. Argamani and the special forces officers were traveling in one of them. The second transported the three remaining hostages and a wounded police commander, who would later die from his injuries.
At around 1:30 p.m., the Israeli government announced that the four hostages were home.