More than 200 Palestinians killed in Israel's hostage rescue, Hamas says
Hundreds of people, including children, were reported killed in the area where the operation to free Israeli hostages took place. Ian Woods on the devastating prize paid by Palestinians as Israeli families celebrate
Hundreds of people, including babies and children, were killed during Israel's operation in Gaza to rescue four hostages abducted by Hamas.
At least 210 Palestinians were killed in the military operation to free the hostages as explosions rocked the town of Nuserat, Hamas's government media office said, while dozens more were taken to Al-Aqsa hospital, the nearest functioning hospital to the raid.
Hamas also claimed some hostages had been killed in the military operation.
Reporters from the Associated Press said they saw dozens of bodies being brought to the Al-Aqsa hospital, including a baby, while hospital workers told ITV News the situation was "catastrophic".
“My two cousins were killed, and two other cousins were seriously injured. They did not commit any sin. They were sitting at home,” one relative said.
Israel’s military said it had attacked “threats to our forces in the area,” adding that one commando died from his injuries during the operation to free the hostages taken at the Supernova music festival during Hamas' attack on October 7.
The Israeli attack drew international condemnation, with Egypt's foreign ministry calling it a "flagrant violation of all rules of international law." European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a post on X: "The bloodbath must end immediately."
On Saturday, Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40, were rescued in a daytime operation in the heart of Nuseirat after 246 days in captivity. They were reunited with their families and were said to be good physical health.
Their release was celebrated in Israel, but their rescue appears to have come at a heavy prize for Palestinians.
A British surgeon at Al Aqsa told ITV News the hospital was struggling to treat the number of injured due to a lack of supplies and medical teams.
Saturday’s hostage recovery operation brought the total number of rescued captives to seven. Two were freed in February and one was freed in the aftermath of the October attack. Israeli troops have recovered the bodies of at least 16 hostages, according to the government.
International pressure is mounting on Israel to limit civilian bloodshed in its war in Gaza, which is entering its ninth month, with more than 36,700 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Palestinians also face widespread hunger because fighting and Israeli restrictions have largely cut off the flow of aid.
But Israel continues to intensify operations across central Gaza, where the hostages were rescued. On Thursday, an Israeli airstrike hit a U.N.-run school compound in Nuseirat, killing over 33 people inside the school, including three women and nine children.
Israel said some 30 militants were inside and on Friday released the names of 17 it said were killed. However, only nine of those matched records from the hospital morgue. One of the alleged militants was an 8-year-old boy, according to hospital records.
Israel's military on Saturday asserted that “Hamas is a terror organization that often uses fake documents disguising terrorists as women or children.”
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