Israel’s hostage rescue: New details on how it unfolded and almost fell apart in Gaza
RAMAT GAN, Israel — New details emerged Monday about the rescue of four hostages — a high-risk operation that proved to be Israel's most successful of the eight-month war, but that brought death and horror to the central Gaza refugee camp where they had been held by Hamas.
RAMAT GAN, Israel — New details emerged Monday about the rescue of four hostages — a high-risk operation that proved to be Israel's most successful of the eight-month war, but that brought death and horror to the central Gaza refugee camp where they had been held by Hamas.
The surprise daytime raid reunited Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40, with their families, sparking emotional scenes of celebration and relief in Israel. For Jan's family, the joy was tempered by grief following the death of his father on Saturday morning.
In the Nuseirat refugee camp, Palestinian families mourned after at least 274 people, including dozens of children, were killed during the raid, according to local health officials. The Israeli military acknowledged there were casualties, but estimated the number was less than 100 and said it did not know how many were Hamas fighters. NBC News could not independently verify the death toll.
An Israeli commando was also killed, the Israel Defense Forces said.
And on Monday the IDF confirmed to NBC News that a vehicle carrying the three male hostages broke down during the rescue operation while under militant fire. Commandos were forced to hastily load the hostages into a separate vehicle under fire before driving them to a waiting helicopter, the IDF said.
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