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IDF Releases Footage of Joint Operation to Rescue 4 Israeli Hostages from Hamas Captivity
Israeli forces provide cover with an Mk 47 grenade launcher during the rescue operation. Photo: IDF
i24 News – Israel has waited more than eight months for the four hostages rescued on Saturday to return, yet the road to success required heroism, fast thinking by commanders, and massive amounts of fire.
Media reports linked together on Sunday paint a picture of a complex operation that cost the life of Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, a member of the Border Police’s elite Yamam unit, after whom the operation was named.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he authorized the operation on Thursday after months of intelligence gathering.
The paratrooper brigade spearheaded the rescue effort, supported by a coalition of specialized units including the Parachute Patrol, Mobility Unit (5515), 13th Fleet, Givati Patrol, and Armored Battalion (532). Operating under intense gunfire, these forces successfully extracted the hostages and swiftly transported them to safety via helicopter.
Over the preceding days, the Kafir Brigade’s battle team, bolstered by paratroopers and special forces from the Dovdevan unit, had maintained a strategic presence in the area.
Simultaneously, the 7th Brigade’s battle team, comprising armored and engineering forces along with fighters from the Rotem Battalion, worked tirelessly to neutralize terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure, clearing the path for the rescue operation.
Critical air support provided by the Air Force targeted numerous military objectives, enhancing the operation’s success rate. The operation itself was the culmination of weeks of meticulous intelligence gathering by the Shin Bet and Amn, shedding light on the abductees’ whereabouts and providing crucial insights into the operational dynamics of the rescue mission.
The joint operation, launched in collaboration with the elite police unit Yamam, reached its climax as teams stormed two separate locations in the Nuseirat refugee camp. While the extraction of Noa Argamani proceeded smoothly, the mission to retrieve Shlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov, and Almog Meir-Jan encountered fierce resistance. Commanding Yamam officer Zamora, leading the charge, sustained injuries during a close-range firefight but remained instrumental in ensuring the hostages’ safe evacuation.
Southern Command Colonel “Y” emerged as a pivotal figure in orchestrating the operation’s success, underscoring the collaborative efforts and strategic acumen of Israel’s defense apparatus in safeguarding its citizens against threats from hostile adversaries.
He was tasked with securing the exit point by providing cover fire against known targets, including anti-tank positions, military bases, terrorist apartments, and more. Colonel “Y” was also responsible for the swift exit of the hostages and their rescuers from the refugee camp under fire.
But as the team with the rescued hostages and Zamora tried to exit Nuseirat, their vehicles got stuck in a crowded area. At this time, drones flying overhead spotted dozens of terrorists gathering in several points to attack the Israelis.
Colonel “Y” gave swift approval to attack the terrorists, with IDF fire hitting some 30 feet away from the Israeli forces.
This allowed Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers (APC) to enter the refugee camp and tow away the vehicle that was stuck. Meanwhile, the team transferred to an APC where they were taxied to the Gazan beach. The Yamam doctor fought all the while to provide first aid to Zamora. Due to the high risk of a surface-to-air attack, the helicopter was ordered to wait while the Israeli forces were out of danger.
It was only once he was back in Israel that doctors pronounced Zamora dead.
According to a security source quoted by Walla, the mission succeeded thanks to the “iron nerves” of Colonel “Y” and the dedicated assistance of the Israel Air Force and Armored Corps.
The post IDF Releases Footage of Joint Operation to Rescue 4 Israeli Hostages from Hamas Captivity first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.