Hostage liberation

Hamas leader accuses Israel of “massacre”: 210 dead

One of the four freed hostages - Andrei Kozlov - arrives in Israel by helicopter.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

According to the army, Israeli security forces rescued four hostages from the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. The Hamas-controlled administration of the Gaza Strip has now announced that 210 people lost their lives in Israeli attacks and a further 400 were injured. It is unclear whether the people died during the rescue operations.

The rescue of the hostages was complex and highly risky, according to Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari. The rescue operations took place simultaneously in the morning in order to prevent an advance warning of an army operation and thus the killing of the hostages in the other building. In the apartment where the woman was located, the guards were completely surprised. A fierce firefight broke out in the other apartment, in the course of which a high-ranking police officer was seriously injured and later died in hospital.

Hundreds of police were stationed in the area at the same time to provide cover for the special units. The hostages were taken out, protected by the forces, and initially placed in cars. "We give them human shields so that they don't get caught in the crossfire," says Hagari. Finally, the four were flown by helicopter to a clinic in Israel.

A man holds a picture of Almog Meir Jan, one of the four freed Israeli hostages.

(Bild: APA/AFP/JACK GUEZ)

Situation so far opaque
According to an authority of the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, 210 Palestinians were presumably killed in connection with the Israeli rescue operation. Around 400 people were also injured in Nuseirat in the center of the coastal area. The information could not initially be independently verified. The Hamas-controlled health authority and medical circles in the Gaza Strip had previously spoken of 55 deaths. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari, on the other hand, spoke of fewer than 100 casualties in the evening. "I don't know how many of them are terrorists," he said.

The Hamas media office spoke of "an unprecedented, brutal attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp". The Al-Aqsa hospital was in a catastrophic situation. According to reports, there were heavy air strikes and artillery fire in the area. Footage purporting to show scenes from the treating hospital shows bloodied victims, dead bodies and injured children. According to reports, complete chaos broke out at the Al-Aqsa Clinic in Deir al-Balah.

The four hostages freed:

Hamas chief accuses Israel of moral failure
Meanwhile, Hamas' foreign chief, Ismail Haniyeh, described Israel's recent operations in Gaza as a "massacre" of Palestinians. "The enemy is continuing its massacre against our people, our children and women, in Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah," he said on Saturday.

Haniyeh declared that Israel had "failed militarily, politically and morally". With regard to the still unsuccessful negotiations on a possible ceasefire, Haniyeh said that Hamas would not agree to any agreement that did not "first and foremost provide security for our people".

Freed hostages are in good health
The four freed hostages are a 25-year-old woman and three men aged 21, 27 and 40. They are in good condition and have been taken to a hospital in Israel, it was reported. According to the information, all four were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7 during the Nova music festival. "They are alive. They are fine," army spokesman Hagari said of the hostages' condition. They are now being reunited with their families in hospital.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel would not bow to "terrorism". The operation to free all hostages kidnapped by Hamas would continue and the dead would also be brought back to Israel.