Published June 9, 2024
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Some of the special forces that entered the Nuseirat camp in Gaza yesterday to conduct a large-scale operation to free four hostages posed as displaced Gazans from Rafah, according to local residents who spoke with the Saudi-owned Asharq news channel.
Ynet claims that the special forces belonged to Israeli units that operate in Palestinian areas by blending in with local Arabs, including speaking the language fluently.
The unit, which also included women, reportedly entered the Nuseirat camp from an area close to the American aid pier and the Netzarim corridor, an east-west passage bisecting Gaza north of the camp which has been held by the IDF and is used as a jumping off point for raids in northern and central Gaza.
The disguised forces arrived in a white car carrying mattresses on top, and the women were dressed in the clothes “that women are wearing here in the war,” Asharq reports.
Locals asked the newcomers where they came from, and the latter answered that they were escaping the IDF operation in Rafah, and had rented a place in the area around the market in Nuseirat, pointing at the building where Noa Argamani was being held. The three male hostages (Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv and Almog Meir Jan) were detained in another building 200 meters away.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: How Israel’s operation to rescue four hostages from Gaza unfolded
Andrey Kozlov was among the four hostages rescued from central Gaza on June 8, 2024.
Published June 9, 2024
Israel’s operation to rescue four hostages took weeks of preparation and involved hundreds of personnel, its military said. But the mission began with a trail of destruction in central Gaza and ended in carnage, according to local authorities.
Staff from Israel’s military, the domestic intelligence service, and a police special unit raided two buildings on Saturday, 200 meters (650 feet) apart, in the Nuseirat refugee camp, where intelligence reports said the hostages were being held.
They rescued four hostages – Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv – eight months after they were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7. An Israeli policeman who was part of the special counter-terrorism unit was killed in the operation.
Israel heavily bombarded central Gaza as it carried out the operation, killing more than 200 Palestinians and wounding many others, according to Gaza hospital officials. CNN has no way of verifying casualty numbers reported by Palestinian officials in Gaza. Medical records in the war-torn enclave do not differentiate between civilians and militants killed.
“Israeli forces have been preparing for this rescue mission for weeks. They underwent intensive training,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a press briefing.
The special operation was weeks in the making, and Israeli forces prepared by building models of the apartments the hostages were being held in to train in, Hagari said.
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SOURCE: www.cnn.com
RELATED: Who was Arnon Zamora? ‘Hero’ IDF commander killed in operation that rescued 4 Hamas hostages
‘Hero’ IDF commander Arnon Zamora killed in operation that rescued 4 Hamas hostages (Israel Police)
Published June 9, 2024
A very dangerous mission to rescue Hamas hostages led to the death of IDF commander Arnon Zamora, who is being hailed as a hero.
A very dangerous mission to rescue Hamas hostages led to the death of IDF commander Arnon Zamora, who is being hailed as a hero. Zarora’s unit played a key role in the return of four hostages – Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andri Kozlov, 27. They were rescued by Israeli troops from the central Gazan city of Nuseirat.
“Behind every rescue mission, are Israeli men and women who risk their lives. We are devastated to share that Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, commander and tactical operator in the Yamam (National Police Counter-Terrorism Unit), who was critically wounded in the operation to rescue hostages this morning, has succumbed to his wounds,” Israeli’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday on X.
“A true hero in life and in death,” the statement added. “May his memory be a blessing.”
