Daylight mission to surprise captors; special
forces concurrently raid two buildings where
hostages held by Palestinian families; rescue
vehicle breaks down after coming under fire

The Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet security
agency and Israel Police on Saturday morning
carried out one of the most daring, complex,
high-risk yet successful operations amid the war
against Hamas, rescuing four hostages alive from
the terror group’s captivity in the Gaza Strip. The
mission was conducted in broad daylight and in
an area where Israeli forces had not previously
operated.
The operation to rescue Noa Argamani, 26, Almog
Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv,
41 was planned out weeks in advance, according
to information seen by The Times of Israel.
Known originally as “Seeds of Summer,” its name
was changed after the event to “Operation
Arnon” after Yamam officer Chief Inspector
Arnon Zamora, who was critically wounded by
Hamas fire amid the rescue of three of the
hostages and later died of his wounds.
During the planning period, intelligence on the
hostages’ locations was obtained and studied.
Amid the war, Hamas has repeatedly moved
hostages around Gaza, in an attempt to prevent
Israeli rescue operations.
In the days leading up to the rescue, the police’s
elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit drilled
various models of the extraction from central
Gaza’s Nuseirat, which military officials said
were “similar to the Entebbe raid” of 1976, when
Israeli commandos rescued more than 100
hostages in Uganda.
Also in the days before the mission, the military
launched a new operation in eastern Bureij — to
the east of Nuseirat — and in east Deir al-Balah
— to the southeast of where the hostages were
rescued — in an apparent feint to reduce
Hamas’s defenses in Nuseirat.


And according to a diplomatic source, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant approved the operation on
Thursday evening when a war cabinet and
security cabinet meeting was canceled.
Simultaneous attacks
Ultimately, the raid was carried out Saturday
morning, after the Shin Bet recommended it
would be an optimal time to surprise the Hamas
terrorists holding the four hostages captive.
Previous hostage rescue operations in Gaza have
taken place overnight.

At 11:00 a.m. the order was given to the Yamam
and Shin Bet officers to raid two multi-story
buildings in Nuseirat, where Hamas was holding
the hostages.

Nuseirat is one of the few areas of Gaza where
ground troops have not yet entered during the
IDF’s ground offensive against the Hamas terror
group.
The buildings were about 200 meters apart, and
the decision to go for both simultaneously was
due to the possibility that Hamas may murder the
hostages after identifying the rescue operation at
the other location.
Argamani was held by Hamas guards alone in
the home of a Palestinian family, while the other
three hostages were held at a separate home, also
with guards. According to the IDF, Hamas pays
such families to hold the hostages in their houses.
(Meir Jan said on his release that he, Kozlov and
Ziv were held together throughout their eight
months in captivity, in a total of four homes,
Channel 12 reported on Saturday night.)
Argamani’s rescue was described by military
officials as relatively smooth considering the
circumstances. But a major gun battle erupted at
the home where Meir Jan, Kozlov, and Ziv were
held.
Zamora, the commander of the rescue team at
the second building, where the three hostages
were being held, was critically wounded by
Hamas fire and later died of his wounds. The
Hamas guards were killed in the exchange.
Under fire, and stuck
A short while later, as the three hostages and
Zamora were being extracted from Nuseirat, their
vehicle came under fire, causing it to get stuck in
Gaza. Other forces quickly reached the scene to
rescue them, bringing them to a makeshift
helipad in Gaza, from where they were airlifted
to Tel Hashomer Hospital in central Israel.

Noa was similarly taken by helicopter to the
hospital, shortly before the other three were
extracted from Gaza.
According to the IDF, the rescue forces faced a
massive amount of gunfire and RPG fire in
Nuseirat, leading the ground troops and the
Israeli Air Force to carry out major strikes in the
area.
The strikes, targeting the areas from where
Hamas operatives were opening fire, were aimed
at protecting the rescue forces and the hostages.
Hamas’s government media office said at least
210 people were killed amid the operation.
The IDF acknowledged that it killed Palestinian
civilians amid the fighting, but it placed the
blame on Hamas for holding hostages and
fighting in a dense civilian environment.
“We know about under 100 [Palestinian]
casualties. I don’t know how many of them are
terrorists,” IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel
Hagari said in a briefing with journalists,
reported by Reuters.


Hamas operatives also fired anti-aircraft missiles
at Israeli helicopters over the area amid the
operation, without managing to score any hits.
Aside from Zamora, several more troops were
slightly hurt by shrapnel amid the operation.


Third rescue in 8 months
Military officials said the mission was a “hair’s
breadth” between success and failure.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Shin
Bet head Ronen Bar commanded the operation
together. Netanyahu and Gallant also observed
the mission from inside the war room.
Halevi and the commander of Yamam later
agreed to change the name of the rescue mission
to “Operation Arnon,” in honor of the slain
officer.

It was only the third such successful operation in
the 246 days since the Hamas-led attack in which
the hostages were taken, after female soldier Ori
Megidish was rescued in late October and
Fernando Marman, 61, and Louis Har, 70 , were
rescued from southern Gaza’s Rafah in February.
At least one more hostage rescue was attempted
in December, but ended in failure, with the
hostage being killed and his body remaining in
Hamas captivity.
All of the hostages rescued by the IDF from Gaza,
including the four on Saturday, were saved from
buildings and not from Hamas’s vast network of
tunnels.
Many other rescue operations have been
planned, extensively in some cases, but were
ultimately deemed too dangerous or otherwise
impossible to carry out.
Argamani, Meir Jan, Kozlov and Ziv, who had
been in Hamas captivity for eight months, were
all in good condition, according to initial medical
assessments.
The four had been abducted from the Supernova
music festival near the community of Re’im on
the morning of October 7, when some 3,000
Hamas-led terrorists killed 1,200 people and took
251 hostages in a murderous rampage in
southern Israel.



https://www.timesofisrael.com/operation-arnon-how-4-hostages-were-freed-from-hamas-captivity-in-central-gaza/

My thought so far.

1). There are 2 .3 million people with phones connected to Internet that can send israel forces the locations of hamas and hostages are located. Knowing fully well that one israel gets their hostages, There is no more reason for Israel to be in GAZA. But they refused to do the right thing, showing they all in sync with Hamas.


2). The hostages are with people inside their houses and when they are killed they Become INNOCENT CIVILIANS. There is something called accessory to a crime which means
*person who becomes equally guilty in the crime of another by knowingly and voluntarily aiding the criminal before or after the crime*. They are guilty as crazy.


3). Every country demanding Israel agree to a ceasefire are NEVER going to accept the situation if it was them. NEVER.

4). The fact Palestinians are ready to Bury their whole family and their children than to protest in their country for Hamas to stop SHOW the depth of Hatred in their heart. Ugandan used the opportunity of Namibian -Uganda war to free themselves from Idi-Amin. Palestinians can do that from Hamas.

5). The Arab world are mad they can insist on yahya sinwar to think of the 2. 3 million people in gaza and walk away. Israel have promised him safe passage out of Gaza for him, his family and his followers BUT NO they actually want them to die in their country and the foolish Palestinians are going their country.


6). Since no ARAB country in the world want to fight israel on this war and NO one wants to harbour Them. Palestinians should use their brains and beg for peace. So far nothing not china, russia, iran and united nations. There did not gain SHI SHI.

What Amazes me is that this Gaza health ministry counts accurately the number of dead pregnant women and children but has never ever mentioned one hamas official killed.