Israel’s rescue operation that freed four hostages on June 8 was supported by intelligence from US sources, The New York Times reports.
A team of US hostage recovery specialists stationed in Israel provided key intelligence and logistical support to the Israeli military, assisting a daytime operation that brought the hostages back to Israel after being held captive for eight months in Gaza, said several unnamed US and Israeli officials, the report said.
Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv were rescued in the special forces operation, which IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari called “daring.”
Palestinian gunmen kidnapped around 240 hostages following the terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Argamani’s ordeal went viral on social media when she was kidnapped on October 7. She was abducted from the Nova festival via motorbike, and footage of her pleading “Don’t kill me!”
The Pentagon and CIA has been providing real-time intelligence from drone surveillance over Gaza, communications intercepts, and other sources, supplementing Israel’s capabilities, said the NYT report.
“The United States is supporting all efforts to secure the release of hostages still held by terrorists,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
“We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a cease-fire is reached,” said President Joe Biden.
The hostage rescue operation took place in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp.
Gaza’s Government Media Office said at least 210 people were killed in the raid, per Al Jazeera.
Hamas’ armed al-Qassam Brigades said that Israel’s operation also killed some hostages.
Israel, “by committing horrific massacres, was able to free some its hostages, yet it killed some others during the operation,” Briades’ spokesperson, Abu Ubaida, said on Telegram, per Reuters.
Israeli military spokesperson Peter Lerner called the allegation a “blatant lie,” per CNN.
It is not the first time Israel has been accused of killing hostages accidentally.
Efrat Katz, an Israeli grandmother who died on October 7, was likely killed by her own military in a friendly-fire incident.
She was in the process of being abducted from her kibbutz by Hamas militants when her own military opened fire on the vehicle she was traveling in.
In December, the IDF killed three Israeli hostages they mistakenly perceived to be threats.
More than 37,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to Gaza’s health ministry that Hamas runs.
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