The hostages—Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40—have been transferred to Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv.
Israeli security forces conducted a daylight raid in central Gaza on Saturday, successfully rescuing four hostages, including Noa Argamani, whose abduction on October 7 became internationally known through distressing video footage.
The hostages—Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40—have been transferred to Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv. Officials report that they are in “good medical condition,” as confirmed by a joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Securities Authority, and the Israel Police.
These individuals were among those taken by Hamas during the attack on the Nova music festival on October 7. The news of their rescue brought widespread celebration across Israel. In Tel Aviv, beachgoers cheered as lifeguards announced the hostages’ names via loudspeaker.
A video shared on social media showed an emotional reunion between Argamani and her father. She also had a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing her excitement and noting, “I haven’t spoken Hebrew in such a long time.”
Yan Gorjaltsan, a friend from Argamani’s hometown of Be’er Sheva, shared his joy with NBC News as he and others traveled to Tel Aviv to see her, describing it as one of the happiest days of their lives.
This rescue operation took place amid increasing pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of hostages, with regular protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum hailed the rescue as “miraculous,” urging the government to secure the release of all 120 hostages still held by Hamas and calling on Hamas to agree to a cease-fire proposed by President Joe Biden.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid praised the rescue, calling it “a great light in a terrible darkness” and welcoming the hostages back.
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Noa Argamani, a data science engineering student, was dramatically captured on video being abducted on the back of a motorcycle, a clip that became emblematic of the hostage crisis. Her friends and family faced a desperate race against time to secure her release, especially as her mother, Liora, battles terminal brain cancer. Argamani turned 26 while in captivity, and her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, is believed to still be in Gaza.
Almog Meir Jan, who had recently completed his military service, was captured while trying to escape the festival with a friend. Shlomi Ziv, working as a security guard at the festival, contacted his sisters as he attempted to flee. Andrey Kozlov, who had recently moved to Israel from Russia, was also working as a security guard at the event.
This operation marks the second instance since October 7 in which the IDF has rescued hostages from Gaza. Previously, in February, two hostages were freed from Rafah during an overnight mission, and in May, the bodies of three hostages were recovered from the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.
During the October 7 attacks, Hamas took around 250 hostages. While roughly half were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November, more than 130 remain in captivity, with about a quarter believed to have been killed.