Here is the latest news on the freed hostages.

 

Updated

June 8, 2024, 7:39 a.m. ET6 minutes ago

Aaron Boxerman

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/06/08/world/israel-gaza-war-hamas

Here is the latest news on the freed hostages.

Four hostages who had been held in Gaza since Oct. 7 were rescued in a military operation on Saturday, the Israeli military said.

 

The freed hostages — named as Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv — were kidnapped by Palestinian militants from the Nova music festival during the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

 

All four are in good medical condition and have been transferred to a hospital in Israel for further examinations, the Israeli authorities said in a statement. Roughly 250 people in Israel were abducted during the assault, according to the Israeli government, including women, older people and young children.

 

Ms. Argamani’s abduction, in particular, became a symbol of the brutality of the attack, in which an estimated 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli officials. In a video from the scene, Palestinian assailants can be seen driving Ms. Argamani away on a motorcycle as she cried for help and reached out to her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, as he was marched away.

 

The news immediately prompted jubilation in Israel, where fear for the fate of the roughly 120 remaining hostages — over 30 of them presumed dead — has grown as Israeli officials announced that several had been killed in captivity or their bodies had been brought back to Israel.

 

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, hailed what he called a “complex operation” by Israeli soldiers, special forces and intelligence, who he said had “operated with extraordinary courage under heavy fire.”

 

The announcement came shortly after the Israeli military said it was conducting an operation targeting militant infrastructure in Nuseirat. Palestinians in Gaza reported frequent explosions through the morning in central Gaza.