Israel News for 6-10-2024
News Update
As you’ve all already heard, IDF forces rescued 4 hostages in a daring raid in the crowded Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday morning. Noa Argamani, 26, was being held in one apartment and Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, in the apartment of a Hamas terrorist who was also a reporter for Al Jazeera, a couple of blocks away.
Special forces teams from the Shin Bet and Yamam (police anti-terror force) entered the area disguised as Palestinian refugees and raided both apartments simultaneously. The terrorists and family holding Noa Argamani were taken by surprise and neutralized, but the terrorists holding the men managed to fire at the rescue team, killing team leader Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, 36.
As the rescue teams began moving the out with the hostages they came under intense fire from Hamas terrorists all over the neighborhood. One of their vehicles was hit. A large force of paratroopers entered the battle while air force helicopters and planes attacked Hamas terrorists in a massive barrage of fire to cover the extraction of the troops and hostages.
The hostages and all of the Israeli forces were extracted from Nuseirat and the hostages were taken by helicopter to Israel, where they were reunited with their families and loved ones and given medical care. The hostages appeared to be in good condition.
The hostage rescue operation was the result of precise intelligence obtained by Israel with the assistance of American and British intelligence and a few weeks of intense training by special forces on models of the apartments.
According to the IDF, around 100 people were killed in the raid, including dozens of terrorists embedded throughout the civilian population and some civilians, many of whom were killed by Hamas fire and some in the Israeli air strikes. [Civilian deaths could end if Hamas would release the remaining 120 hostages they are holding.]
IDF combat operations continue in central Gaza and in Rafah.
In the north, Hezbollah continues to fire missiles and drones and the IDF continues to respond with air and artillery strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken held talks with in Cairo with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt today and will continue on to Israel later in the day to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in an attempt to get the latest U.S. backed ceasefire proposal accepted. Hamas has, as yet, not been willing to accept it. The U.S. asked the United Nations Security Council to vote on its latest resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza, based on the proposal.
According to an NBC news report, senior officials in the Biden administration have discussed the possibility of negotiating a unilateral deal with Hamas for the release of the five Israeli-American hostages still held in Gaza, without Israeli participation, if the current talks don’t result in a deal.
National Union party leader Benny Gantz announced his resignation from the wartime unity government and called for new election. Netanyahu stills controls a narrow 64 seat majority in the Knesset, but is now completely dependent on the support of the far right parties led by Ben Gvir and Smotrich, who have both threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu accepts the U.S. backed ceasefire proposal.
