The Nuseirat refugee camp is located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, deep inside Palestinian territory. It was in one of the camp's many markets that Hamas had kept Israeli woman Noa Argamani, a 26-year-old woman who had been dramatically captured on video pleading for her life while being taken into Gaza, as hostage. Unbeknownst to Ms Argamani and three other hostages in the area, Israeli commandos had infiltrated the camp to launch a daring rescue operation to free them, a report by the Washington Post says.
At 11 am on the day of the rescue, Israeli soldiers burst into the apartment where Ms Argamani was being held, declaring, "You are being rescued!"
The rescue mission, which also freed Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, was marked by intense preparation and military engagement. Planned for weeks, the operation involved thousands of troops, advanced technological support, and precise execution the report says. Israeli intelligence, with US assistance, analysed digital data, drone footage, and communications intercepts to locate the hostages.
According to the report, upon confirming the hostages' location in Nuseirat, Israeli forces constructed detailed mock-ups of the buildings to rehearse the rescue. According to the report, this preparation echoed the famed Operation Entebbe of 1976, a counter-terrorism operation in Uganda initiated in response to the hijacking of an international civilian flight operated by Air France on its route from Tel Aviv to Paris. Despite the daylight timing of the raid posing higher risks, Israeli military strategists deemed it the best chance for surprise.
At the break of morning, the mission was kicked off. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and other top security officials monitored from a command room. Special forces disguised in undercover vehicles, including a truck mimicking a civilian commercial vehicle and a white Mercedes loaded with furniture, approached the target area. Eyewitnesses described the sudden eruption of gunfire as Israeli soldiers engaged Hamas militants, the report claims.
Despite initial success in rescuing Ms Argamani without alerting her guards, complications arose with the other hostages. A firefight broke out, transforming the covert raid into a full-blown conflict. The rescue, though ultimately successful in retrieving the hostages, left a trail of devastation. According to Gaza health officials, over 270 Palestinians were killed, including civilians caught in the crossfire.
The rescued hostages were eventually flown to safety, with the mission's success hailed by Israeli authorities despite the heavy price.
Among the 251 people seized by Hamas, seven captives have been freed alive by Israeli forces. Currently, there are 116 hostages still in Gaza, including 41 whom the army believes are dead.
The conflict, the deadliest in Gaza's history, began with a deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, resulting in 1,189 Israeli deaths and 252 hostages taken. Israel's response has been relentless, with the Gaza Health Ministry reporting over 37,232 deaths, mostly civilians.
