Israeli Army says four hostages rescued in central Gaza in 'good medical condition'
Israel-Hamas war
The Israeli military said on Saturday (Jun 8) that its troops had rescued four Israeli hostages alive from Gaza after a "complex daytime operation". The military said that the rescue was made at two separate locations in the area of al-Nuseirat and the hostages were in "good medical condition".
"Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40), were kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organiation from the Nova music festival on October 7," the military said in a statement.
It added that all four were transferred to the 'Sheba' Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for further medical examinations.
"We will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages home," the military further said.
The Israeli ministry claimed that the hostages, three males and one female, were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7 last year.
The family members rushed to the hospital to meet them. News agency Reuters shared a video that showed Argamani smiling as she reuniteswith her father.
Another video of Argamani receiving a telephone call from Israeli President Isaac Herzog was distributed by his office.
"I am so happy to be here. Thank you for everything, thank you for this moment," said a smiling Argamani, sitting with her father in a hospital room.
In one video, speaking on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Argamani said, "I am very moved. I haven't heard Hebrew for so long."
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Israel-Hamas war
Hamas killed around 1,200 people during the October 7 attack and took 251 hostages, 116 of whom now remain in the Palestinian territory, including 41 the army says are dead.
In response to the unprecedented attack by Hamas, Israel launched a full-scale war, vowing to eliminate the Palestine-based militant group.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Saturday that at least 36,801 people have been killed in the territory so far.
The toll includes at least 70 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 83,680 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.