TEL AVIV, Israel – Dramatic new video shows the moment Israeli hostages were taken was rescued from the apartment A high-risk raid was organized in the center of Gaza left a trail of destruction following him and raised new doubts about the US push for a ceasefire.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there are positive signs after the United Nations Security Council supported the proposal President Joe Biden envisioned a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that would secure the release of hostages still held in the enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “reaffirmed his support for this proposal,” Blinken said after a meeting with senior Israeli officials on Tuesday morning. He also assessed Hamas’s support for the UN resolution as a “hopeful sign”.
The hostage rescue added uncertainty to the complex diplomatic effort, and new details emerged from the weekend raid.
Officers can be seen racing towards the apartment building Nuseirat refugee camp The explosions can be heard in footage captured by their helmet cameras and released by Israeli police on Monday.
After forcing open the apartment door, they scan the empty room with flashlights before moving into what appears to be a bedroom, where they find at least two of the hostages rescued on Saturday, along with Almog Meir Janvar, 21, and Andrey Kozlov, 27. , appears in the video.
Officers shouted Kozlov’s “Andrei!” he asks the hostages their names before he can be heard shouting. as both men raised their hands. Jan and Kozlov, huddled together as a clash erupts around them, appear visibly shaken before the video cuts to fleeing the building in broad daylight.
The two men were among four hostages rescued by Israeli forces and police officers on Saturday Noah ArgamaniShlomi Ziv, 26, and 40-year-old Shlomi Ziv, were also freed eight months after being taken hostage during the October 7 Hamas attacks on Gaza.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press briefing after the raid that Argamani was held in a separate apartment about 200 meters or 220 yards away from the three men.
He said the forces targeted two apartments simultaneously and carried out the operation in daylight to ensure a greater element of surprise.
During the rescue, a vehicle carrying three male hostages broke down during an intense firefight with Hamas militants, and the commandos had to hastily load the hostages into a separate vehicle before driving them to a waiting helicopter. Monday.
“After the escape, the commandos used the code words ‘we have diamonds,'” said Hajari.
All four of them were soon reunited with their families.
Argamani, whose boyfriend Avinatan Or is believed to be in Hamas custody, has finally been able to be with her mother, who is terminally ill with brain cancer. The meeting came too late for Jan, his father died on the morning of the 21-year-old’s rescue.
Blinken also met with hostage families during his time in Israel before traveling to Jordan.
The Biden administration has officials discussed the possibility Two current and two former senior U.S. officials told NBC News that they are negotiating a unilateral deal with Hamas to free Americans believed to be held hostage in Gaza if current cease-fire talks fail.
The IDF said on Tuesday that Gen. Michael “Eric” KurillaThe US Central Command commander arrived in Israel as a guest of Israel’s military chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, to conduct an operational assessment to discuss regional issues.
The operation dealt a deadly blow to Palestinians sheltering in Nuseirat, killing more than 274 people, including dozens of children, local health officials said.
Hajari acknowledged that there were casualties in the operation, saying the IDF believed the death toll was less than 100 and did not know how many Hamas fighters there were.
In the video after the raid, burnt bodies were seen scattered in the streets of Nuseirat, and Palestinians were seen collecting the remains of those killed. Bloody children could also be seen arriving at the local hospital, which was already full of injured patients.
Israel has faced growing anger and isolation on the international stage as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise after Israeli forces launched a Hamas offensive in the enclave after October 7, with more than 37,000 dead, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. According to Israeli officials, about 1,200 people died and 250 people were taken hostage.
More than 100 hostages remain in Gaza, at least a quarter are believed to be dead.
Andrea Mitchell reported from Tel Aviv and Chantal Da Silva from London.