RESCUED. This photo taken on June 8, 2024 shows a building and a vehicle damaged during Israeli attacks in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. At least four Israeli hostages were rescued during the operation. (Photo by Marwan Daoud /Xinhua)
JERUSALEM – Israeli forces on Saturday rescued four hostages from the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The operation, however, resulted in the death of at least 210 people and wounding of 400 others, according to Palestinian sources.
Khalil Al-Dakran, director of al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, told Xinhua that many wounded Palestinians were sent to the hospital, with some of them later confirmed dead.
In a statement on Saturday, Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades denounced the Israeli assault in the Nuseirat area as "a complex war crime."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the hostage rescue operation had been planned for weeks and was jointly carried out by the army with the police's elite unit and the intelligence body Shin Bet,
A police officer was killed during the operation, the IDF said.
The rescued hostages were identified as Noa Argamani, 25, Shlomi Ziv, 40, Almog Meir Jan, 21, and Andrey Kozlov, 27, all of whom were abducted last October by Hamas while attending the Nova festival, an outdoor music event, in a rural area near the Gaza-Israel fence.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the four were located in two buildings at the heart of the Nuseirat camp.
At least 120 more Israeli hostages remain held in Gaza, including 43 feared dead, according to the Israeli army.
In the wake of the operation, Israel's wartime cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, postponed his expected resignation announcement planned for Saturday evening.
On May 18, Gantz threatened to resign from Netanyahu's government on June 8 if the cabinet did not formulate an action plan to secure Gaza war goals, including the return of hostages and the elimination of Hamas.
In a statement on Saturday evening, Netanyahu urged Gantz not to step down, stressing, "We must remain united in the face of the great tasks ahead of us."
Gantz replied in a video, saying, "The challenges Israel faces remain as they were, and therefore, I say to the prime minister and the entire leadership, even today, we must look responsibly at how it is right and possible to continue from here."
Meanwhile, on Saturday night, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Israel's Tel Aviv for the release of the remaining hostages and against the government.
The police declared the demonstration illegal and announced the arrest of 10 protestors on suspicion of violating public order, according to a police statement. (Xinhua)
