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2024 Nuseirat rescue operation
Date 8 June 2024 Location Nuseirat refugee camp Result Release of 4 Israeli hostages One Yamam soldier killed At least 210 Palestinians killed and dozens injured (per Hamas government media office) Less than 100 Palestinian casualties (per IDF)

The Nuseirat rescue operation (codenamed Operation Arnon or Operation Seeds of Summer) was carried out by Yamam, the Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces in the Nuseirat refugee camp on 8 June 2024 and successfully rescued four Israelis—Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov—who had been kidnapped from the Re'im music festival massacre, during Hamas' 7 October attacks.

The operation occurred in two main locations in Nuseirat where the hostages were held: a school and a marketplace. The hostages were freed uninjured. Yamam soldier Arnon Zemora was seriously injured during the operation and later died.

According to the Hamas-run government media office, this operation led to the deaths of at least 210 Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp, including women and children, and dozens of injuries.

Background

On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. As part of the attack, in which the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization was also involved, thousands of rockets were launched towards the State of Israel and about 3,000 militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated dozens of Israeli kibutzim and military installations and massacred civilians in nearby kibutzim and the Re'im music festival. As part of the attack, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad kidnapped hundreds of Israelis, civilians and soldiers. This attack led to the Israel–Hamas war.

The Nuseirat refugee camp is a long standing UNRWA refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, in Deir al-Balah. The camp has been repeatedly bombed during the Israel-Hamas war, with over a hundred Palestinians being killed in the attacks, the most recent attack on the camp occurred only days before the rescue operation with IDF forces striking the UNRWA school in the camp killing at least 33 people.

This operation was the third successful hostage rescue operation completed by the IDF since the start of the war. IDF Corporal Ori Megidish was rescued in October 2023 from the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and two male hostages were rescued in February 2024 from southern Rafa. Additionally a number of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners have been exchanged through out the war in November 2024.

Hostages

All four hostages recovered had been kidnapped from the Re'im music festival, and were identified as Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv.

Argamani, was shown in one of the initial videos released by Hamas documenting the massacre. She was seen being taken away on a motorcycle while yelling, "Don't kill me!" Her arms are outstretched towards her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, who was also being kidnapped. This footage became emblematic of the hostage crisis, leading to Argamani being described as "the face of the Nova music festival hostages." Argamani’s mother, Liora, a Chinese citizen with late-stage brain cancer, made a public plea to see her daughter one last time, urging US President Joe Biden to help secure her release. The family had indications that Noa was alive, as she appeared in a Hamas video released in January 2024.

Rescue

The IDF said that they worked with Shin Bet and Israeli police to free the four Israeli hostages. The operation was planned for several weeks, and was carried out after an intelligence opportunity arose. During the operation, the Southern Command and the Air Force said they exchanged fire with Hamas militants. An IDF spokesman said its forces were fired upon inside buildings and during their withdrawal from Gaza."

A witness in the camp reported a "crazy bombardment" occurred suddenly in the camp, while another stated that the strike occurred when people were sleeping. Witnesses reported that entire residential blocks were wiped out.

The abductees were rescued in the morning from two different buildings in the center of Nusseirat. During captivity they were held in a civilian environment, with the IDF claiming this was an intentional method by their captors. An IDF spokesperson said the that hostages were guarded by armed militants and were being hidden among Gazan civilians.

The abductees were not injured, and were transferred to Sheba Medical Center.

Casualties

Hamas media office stated that the number of victims "has risen to 210 martyrs and more than 400 wounded".ref name=nie/> Tanya Haj-Hassan, a paediatric intensive care doctor with Doctors Without Borders, stated that Al-Aqsa hospital, where many of the affected victims were transported, was a "complete bloodbath." The Gaza Health Ministry did not say how many of the casualties were combatants.

The operation also resulted in the death of Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, an Israeli officer in the elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit. The operation's codename was subsequently changed to "Operation Arnon" in his honor.

According to Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida, the operation resulted in the deaths of several other Israeli hostages.

Aftermath

Argamani was reunited with her father and transported to Sheba hospital to be reunited with her mother, where she was being treated for cancer. Upon receiving the news celebrations begun spontaneously across Israel. Israeli life guards told beach goers of the rescue and people responded with cheers and singing.

During a phone call with Argamani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "we didn't give up on you for a moment."

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz postponed a scheduled news conference this evening, which coincided with his deadline to resign if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not present a new plan for the war.

Reactions

Domestic

•  Hamas issued a press release on 8 June calling the actions of the IDF and Israeli military a "horrible massacre against innocent civilians."

•  Palestine: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas described the rescue operation as a "massacre."

International

•  France: President Emmanuel Macron Macron praised the hostage rescue and called for a lasting political solution to the war in Gaza.
•  Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote that the rescue of the hostages was a "important sign of hope", adding that "four hostages are now free. Hamas must finally release all hostages. The war must end".
•  United States: United States President Joe Biden lauded the rescue of the hostages.

Organizations

•  United Nations: UN Secretary General António Guterres stated that he had sent messages to the families of rescued hostages Noa Argamani and Shalomi Ziv, in order to express his "relief that they and two other hostages are now free." Guterres added, "I renew my appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and for an end to this war."

See also

• Rescue of Ori Megidish
• Operation Golden Hand
• Operation Entebbe

References

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• Current events from June 2024
• June 2024 events in Israel
• Hostage rescue operations of the Israel–Hamas war
• Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip
• Operations involving Israeli special forces
• Deir al-Balah Governorate