Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday reiterated his country’s commitment to securing “the release of all the hostages” still held captive in Gaza after meeting with four who had been rescued during a special military operation earlier in the day.
The four hostages were taken by militants following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack. Word of their rescue was met with celebration and renewed hope across Israel.
In recent days, the fates of more than 120 remaining hostages had been in doubt following nine months of a drawn-out war that has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians. Those freed Saturday were rescued from two separate locations in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza.
Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; Shlomi Ziv, 40; and Noa Argamani, who turned 26 in captivity, were all said to be in “good medical condition” and transferred to the Sheba Medical Center for further examination, according to the Israeli military.
The United States provided logistical support and intelligence on the hostages before Israel’s military operation, the New York Times reported, citing American and Israeli officials briefed on the mission.
Intelligence teams from the U.S. and the United Kingdom have been stationed in Israel since the war broke out and have helped the Jewish state in collecting and analyzing information on the hostages, where they could be, and how to get them back.
President Joe Biden welcomed the “safe rescue.”
“We don’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a ceasefire is reached,” Biden said following a meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan also praised the rescue operation and said the ceasefire proposal being negotiated by representatives of Hamas, Israel, Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. would be the way to bring the rest home.
“The hostage release and ceasefire 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,” he said.
On May 31, Biden detailed a three-phase deal proposed by Israel that he said would lead to the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and could bring the fighting to an end.
Phase one would last six weeks and includes a “full and complete ceasefire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the civilian-heavy parts of Gaza, and the release of several hostages, including women, the elderly, and those wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the Associated Press reported. American prisoners would be released during this phase.
Part two includes the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and would require Israel to withdraw from Gaza.
Part three includes rebuilding Gaza, parts of which have been blown to smithereens and are hardly recognizable. But not everybody is on board with the plan.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) said Saturday’s hostage rescue “would have never happened” had a ceasefire been in place and urged Israel to stand its ground.
“This good news would have never happened with a ceasefire,” Barr posted Saturday on X. “Thank God Israel’s leaders have ignored the extreme far-left antisemitic voices on America’s college campuses, at the United Nations, and even in Congress calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The operation must continue until every hostage is rescued or recovered.”
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Saturday’s brazen daylight attack at the Nuseirat refugee camp killed 210 Palestinians and wounded more than 400, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
The death toll has not been independently verified. The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health has been repeatedly accused of dramatically inflating the death toll following an attack.