On June 9, 2024, Israeli special forces executed a high-risk operation in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp to rescue four hostages abducted from the Nova music festival in Israel on October 7. The operation involved Israeli units posing as displaced Gazans from Rafah, a tactic confirmed by local residents speaking with the Saudi-owned Asharq news channel.
The rescue mission, dubbed “Operation Arnon,” honored Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, an officer in the police’s special counter-terrorism unit, who was critically wounded during the operation and later died in the hospital. Zmora is survived by his wife and two children.
According to Ynet, the Israeli special forces that participated in the mission are adept at operating in Palestinian areas by blending in seamlessly with local Arabs, including speaking fluent Arabic. The unit, which included women, entered the camp from an area near the American aid pier and the Netzarim corridor, used by the IDF for raids in northern and central Gaza.
Disguised as Palestinian refugees, the special forces arrived in a white car carrying mattresses, with the women dressed in local attire. They claimed to be fleeing an IDF operation in Rafah and had rented a place near the market in Nuseirat. This deception allowed them to position themselves near the buildings where hostages Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv were held.
At 11 a.m. local time, the “go” command was given, initiating the operation. Eyewitnesses reported that other special forces entered Nuseirat inside an aid truck, a claim the IDF has denied. The hostages were rescued from two separate locations within the camp: Argamani from one building and the three male hostages from another 200 meters away.
The hostages were airlifted to Sheba Medical Center in Israel, with the first helicopter landing at 12:15 p.m. and the last at 12:45 p.m. They were reported to be in relatively good medical condition despite enduring physical and psychological abuse during their captivity. Professor Itai Pessach, head of the medical team at Sheba Medical Center, confirmed the hostages’ condition was less severe than anticipated.
The operation resulted in significant casualties within Gaza. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 274 Palestinians were killed, and 698 were injured during the IDF operation in Nuseirat.
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