The Israeli military rescued four hostages from Hamas through an unusual daytime operation on June 8.
They carried out the operation in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, controlled by Hamas, rescuing one woman and three men.
With this, the number of hostages rescued by the Israeli military has increased to seven. This rescue operation was the largest since the war between Israel and Hamas started with a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
According to Israel, Hamas killed 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 at the time.
The four rescued hostages were kidnapped during the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
About half of the 250 kidnapped were released through exchanges with Palestinian residents imprisoned in Israeli prisons during the ceasefire period last year, but the other half are still held captive by Hamas.
The Israeli hostage rescue operation in the refugee camp seems to have caused significant casualties among Palestinian residents.
According to the Gaza health authorities controlled by Hamas, a considerable number of Palestinian residents died and were injured due to Israel’s Nuseirat rescue operation. Hamas’s Public Relations Department announced that 210 people were killed with 400 injured.
On the other hand, Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Daniel Hagari said that the number of casualties is less than 100. Israel is currently verifying how many of them are Hamas militants. Hagari criticized Hamas for using civilians as human shields.
Cornered politically under U.S. ceasefire pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cheered the operation’s success.
Netanyahu praised the Israeli military’s hostage rescue operation and vowed to continue efforts to rescue the remaining 120 hostages.
Meanwhile, the announcement of cabinet withdrawal by opposition leader Benny Gantz, who is participating in the grand coalition, was delayed due to the success of the hostage rescue operation.
Gantz postponed the schedule for now after hearing the news of the hostage rescue. He was originally planning to declare a withdrawal at the beginning of the matter.
Netanyahu did not miss this opportunity. In a social media post, he urged Gantz to stay in the coalition.
Netanyahu emphasized, “Now is not the time for division but for unity.”
In response, Gantz said through a statement that the problems Israel is facing have not changed. He said, “We must consider the best and sustainable way,” reconfirming his previous position that a ceasefire with Hamas is necessary.
