Hundreds Of Palestinians Killed During Israel’s Rescue Of 4 Hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not give in to terror after Israeli troops rescued four hostages Saturday who had been held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip after they were abducted during the October 7 Hamas terror attack on southern Israel.

"Israel does not surrender to terrorism,” Netanyahu said. "We will not let go until we complete the mission and return all our hostages home — both the living and the dead," he said while speaking after the rescue operation in the situation room.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue operation Saturday was challenging. "Our troops showed so much courage — operating under heavy fire in the most complex urban environment in Gaza," he said in a statement.

Gallant called it "one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations" he has witnessed during his 47 years of service in Israel’s defense establishment.

At least 210 Palestinians were killed and 400 were wounded in airstrikes near where the rescue operation took place in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, a densely populated area. Local medical officials called the incident one of the bloodiest since the war began, Reuters reported.

Social media footage showed the carnage, although Reuters could not immediately verify it.

"It was like a horror movie, but this was a real massacre. Israeli drones and warplanes fired all night randomly at people's houses and at people who tried to flee the area," said Ziad, 45, a paramedic and resident of Nuseirat, who gave only his first name.

The bombardment targeted a local marketplace and the Al-Awda mosque, he told Reuters via a messaging app.;

"To free four people, Israel killed dozens of innocent civilians," he said.;

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesperson, said the hostage rescue operation took place under fire in the heart of a residential neighborhood, where he said Hamas had been hiding captives among Gaza civilians under guard by armed militants.;

Israeli forces returned fire, including with airstrikes, Hagari said. One Israeli special forces soldier was killed during the operation, a police statement said.;

Israel named the rescued hostages as Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40. They were taken to a hospital for medical checks and were in good health, the military said.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Saturday in a statement that “our people will not surrender, and the resistance will continue to defend our rights in the face of this criminal enemy," while a Hamas official told Reuters that Israel’s rescue of just four hostages since the beginning of the war eight months ago is “a sign of failure, not an achievement.”

Hamas also said it still held the largest number of hostages and could still increase it.

The rescue comes amid international pressure on Israel to protect civilians in Gaza.

Cease-fire push

U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the return of the four Israeli hostages rescued alive in Gaza. Speaking at a news conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, Biden said he joined his host in welcoming the return of the hostages. "We won't stop working until all the hostages come home and a cease-fire is reached."

In a statement Saturday, the White House also expressed its support of all efforts ensuring the release of the remaining hostages, including American citizens. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan emphasized the significance of ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“The hostage release and cease-fire deal that is now on the table would secure the release of all the remaining hostages together with security assurances for Israel and relief for the innocent civilians in Gaza. This deal has the full backing of the United States and has been endorsed by countries from around the world, including the G7, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, UAE and Qatar, as well as the sixteen countries with their citizens still being held by Hamas. They all must be released — now,” the statement reads.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East on Sunday to try to revive the stalled cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

His three-day trip will include stops in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar, where he will emphasize the importance of Hamas accepting the cease-fire proposal on the table that is nearly identical to one Hamas endorsed last month.

Netanyahu also is facing growing demands to embrace the deal endorsed last month by Biden ending the fighting in Gaza, although Israel’s far right is threatening to collapse Netanyahu’s government if he does.

United Nations conflict

Tensions between the United Nations and Israel escalated further Friday when the U.N. added Israel's military to a global list of offenders it says have committed violations against children. Hamas is also on the list.

Netanyahu, in a post on his X social media account, decried the action. "Today, the U.N. added itself to the blacklist of history when it joined those who support the Hamas murderers. The IDF is the most moral army in the world; no delusional U.N. decision will change that."

A report by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres documents the killing, maiming, sexual abuse, abduction or recruitment of children, denial of aid access and targeting of schools and hospitals. The report is compiled annually and will formally be published and presented to the 15-member Security Council on June 18.

Israel blames Hamas for its strike on a U.N.-run school in northern Gaza where, Israel contends, Hamas militants were embedded.

Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said he found the claim that Hamas was operating out of the school shocking and said his agency was unable to verify it.

So far, Israel’s offensive has killed at least 36,801 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its figures.

The October 7 terror attack resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on official Israeli figures. Hamas militants took 251 hostages, 116 of whom still remain in the Palestinian territory, including 41 the army says are dead.