Four hostages have been recovered alive in what’s being widely described as the Israel Defense Forces’ biggest rescue operation in the Gaza Strip since the war began.

All of them had been initially kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival on October 7 and they are: Noa Argamani, 25, Almong Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27 and Shlomi Ziv, 40. Authorities have confirmed they are in good medical condition and they underwent evaluations at Tel Aviv’s largest hospital.

From left; Shlomi Ziv; Andrey Kozlov and Almog Meir Jan and Noa Argamani.

In total hundreds of soldiers participated in the high-risk operation, but which was spearheaded by the police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit and Shin Bet agents.

These units raided a pair of Hamas buildings in central Gaza’s Nuseirat where the captives were being held, with the operation done “under fire”. One officer of the counter-terror unit, identified as Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, was critically wounded in the assault and later died at a hospital.

At least 50 Palestinians were killed in the major operation, Israeli media reports, however the military hasn’t specified how many were combatants. Some regional reports say that as many as 200 Palestinians, among them many civilians, were killed in related strikes and operations in central Gaza on Saturday.

IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that “During the operation, we struck… threats to our forces in the area. These threats were struck from the land, air, and sea… for us to extract our forces [and the hostages].” The freed Israelis had been in captivity for eight months.

Footage shows one of the hostages (presumably Noa Argamani) being extracted from the Gaza Strip in a helicopter after being rescued from Hamas captivity in Nuseirat. pic.twitter.com/sa6JtTy892

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 8, 2024

Hagari further said that the intelligence for the operation was “very complex to obtain” – having been prepared for “many weeks,” with “quality intelligence and complex operational planning.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said, “Once again you have proven that Israel does not surrender to terrorism and acts with creativity and boldness that knows no bounds, to bring home our hostages.” He added: “We are committed to doing so in the future as well. We will not let up until we complete the mission and return all our hostages home – both the living and the dead.”

Terrifying images of Noa Argamani being whisked away by Hamas on a motorcycle had gone viral on Oct.7…

And Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed the mission as “one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations I have witnessed over the course of 47 years serving in Israel’s defense establishment.”

TOI: Rescued hostage Noa Argamani is seen reunited with her father, June 8, 2024 

For Netanyahu this is also a big boost politically as he’s been widely accused of not prioritizing the rescue of the hostages, and large-scale protests have demanded that more be done to free them through negotiations. Some 120 hostages remain unaccounted for, and Israel has recently said it believes 40 among these could be dead.

The IDF pointed out Noa and the other freed hostages were held by Hamas in the terrifying ordeal for 245 days.

However, some new allegations are emerging surrounding IDF tactics in the operation and the potential US role…

I was naive to believe that Biden’s “aid pier” was just a cynical fake humanitarian PR stunt. Turns out those who suspected even more sinister motives were right: https://t.co/QEFKpYbiNB

— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) June 8, 2024