Hi,
Finally some happy news: a successful rescue operation (named after Arnon Zmora zl) in which 4 hostages were released alive from Hamas captivity: Noa Argamani (26 years old), Shlomi Ziv (40 years old), Almog Meir Jan (21 years old) and Andrey Kozlov (27 years old).
In my mind they were all dead. All the hostages. We know there areas IDF had not yet investigated. The assumption was the army avoided those areas because hostages are held there. As the operation begun, I feared it means there is no hope to find them alive, so the IDF can march in.
We were not allowed to get in this neighborhood, and had to stop north of Nuseirat, on Wadi Gaza, watching the life of the Palestinians there continues.
But the army got in there in an operation that probably worth an Hollywood movie made on it. And saved 4 living hostages. After a very long chain of announcements of hostages that their bodies were found, or missing people that declared dead – those were very happy news (the last operation to rescue live hostages was in February).
I still think the best way to release the hostages held by Hamas is with an agreement. Those heroic rescue operations, and it is heroic, show how hard it is to rescue hostages (and it might cost in the life of the rescue team). We still need to push to a hostage deal as fast as we can.
Take Care
Gad
Chief Insp. Arnon Zmora zl, 36 years old and father of two, from elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit who fell in the rescue operation (Source: Israel Police Facebook page)
The 4 host hostages released in the rescue operation today: Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov
The moments the helicopter raised up to the air with 3 of the hostages (Source: IDF spokesman)
Andrey Kozlov getting down from the helicopter (Source: IDF spokesperson)
Noa Argamani meet her father after eight months and one day in Hamas captivity.