Israeli security forces rescued four hostages from Gaza on Saturday morning who had been held hostage for eight months, Israel Defense Forces said. The hostages had been kidnapped from a music festival in Israel during the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
The rescued hostages were found in good medical condition, Israel said. Among the hostages rescued from central Nuseirat was Noa Argamani, whose kidnapping was captured on camera and shared widely online. A ten-second clip of the kidnapping showed Argamani screaming as she was taken away on the back of a motorcycle.
“We are overjoyed to have you home,” wrote Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a post on X. “We will keep fighting until 120 hostages are home.”
Just seven hostages have been rescued alive since the start of the Hamas-Israel War. The hostages rescued on Saturday — Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, — were taken to Sheba Medical Center for evaluation.
The rescue mission was a “daring operation in the light of day,” according to IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said.
The hostages were rescued from two separate buildings. Security forces trained for weeks ahead of the recovery mission, Hagari said, and were under fire while performing the rescue and when leaving Gaza.
Explosions were reported in Nuseirat on Saturday along with large plumes of smoke and loud noises.
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