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Israeli attacks in central Gaza killed dozens of Palestinians, many of them civilians, on Saturday during a special forces operation to free four hostages held there, with the death toll sparking international outrage.
At least 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 wounded in Israeli strikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center GazaGaza’s health ministry said on Sunday.
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called it a “massacre”, while the UN’s humanitarian aid chief described in graphic detail scenes of “torn bodies on the ground”.
“The Nusseirat refugee camp is the epicenter of the seismic trauma that civilians in Gaza continue to suffer,” Martin Griffiths said in an X post, calling for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
The bodies of 109 Palestinians, including 23 children and 11 women, were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital, where more than 100 wounded were also being treated, spokesman Khalil Degran told the AP.
He also said that more than 100 people killed in Israeli attacks were taken to Al-Awda Hospital, with a total of 210 casualties. This figure was also given by the Hamas media office, but could not be verified.
Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed on Saturday that dozens of Palestinians had been killed. He knew “under 100” casualties were reported but could not say how many were civilians, he told a briefing.
The rescue operation was Israel’s largest such operation since the war, freeing Noah Arghamani, 25, Almog Meir Yan, 21, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40. All four were healthy and reunited with their families on Saturday after medical research.
As Israelis celebrated their return, Palestinians in Gaza mourned the many dead or watched over injured loved ones in the overcrowded al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital.
A wave of heavy Israeli bombing in Nuseirat was launched to secure the passage of the three men who were being held together. Argamani was saved by himself, from another place.
The special forces team extracting the male hostages confronted militants, Israel’s Channel 12 television reported, and when a rescue vehicle got stuck, called for backup from the Israeli air force and other troops in the area. They fled under heavy bombardment, the report said.
Special forces operated under heavy fire in a “complex urban environment” to carry out the rescue, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said, describing it as one of the most extraordinary operations he had seen in his decades-long military career.
prime minister of israel Benjamin Netanyahu, said the raid – only the third successful military rescue of the war – was proof that “Israel is not surrendering to terrorism”. He has long insisted that military pressure is the best way to ensure the return of all Israelis captured on October 7.
But beyond Israel, the joyous reunions of the hostages with their families were overshadowed by the horror of how many people were killed in Gaza during the operation to secure their release.
Borel, in an X post, condemned “in the strongest terms … reports from Gaza of another massacre of civilians.” He called for a ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages. “The bloodbath must end immediately,” he said.
As the war enters its ninth month, Netanyahu is under increasing international pressure to reach a cease-fire agreement and domestic pressure to secure the return of all Israelis still held in Gaza.
The rescue operation may give Netanyahu temporary relief at home. After the news broke, his political rival Benny Gantz, a member of the security cabinet, postponed a speech planned for Saturday night. He was widely expected to announce he was leaving the government after giving Netanyahu an ultimatum to draw up a long-term plan for Gaza.
But the families of the hostages were quick to reiterate their demands for a cease-fire agreement to free their loved ones, saying in a statement Saturday night that the military could not return all those still in captivity.
“Hostages don’t have time. We cannot release everyone during operations and we have to reach a deal that will save lives,” said Ayala Metzger, the daughter-in-law of hostage Yoram Metzger, 80, who was announced this week as having died in captivity.
Israeli forces have already freed seven hostages, but the majority of those who have now returned home were handed over under a temporary ceasefire agreement last November. There are still 120 detainees in Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
The spokesman for Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas’ armed brigades, Abu Ubaydah, also claimed that some Israeli hostages were killed during the rescue attack, without providing evidence or details.
Internationally, the death toll in Gaza could further isolate Netanyahu and add weight to calls for an end to the fighting.
US intelligence was reportedly involved in supporting the Israeli mission, and President Joe Biden welcomed the return of the four hostages, but also said efforts to reach a deal to end the war and ensure the return of all those held in Gaza would continue.
He has personally pushed hard for an agreement and has apparently been frustrated by resistance in the Israeli government, suggesting in a recent interview that Netanyahu may be prolonging the war to protect his personal political interests.
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