A dramatic new video has emerged that shows elite counter-terrorism officers facing gunfire and explosions to rescue three hostages from a Hamas compound. The harrowing first-person footage recorded by the Yamam unit on Saturday begins with officers navigating through trees as they approach one of the buildings holding three Israeli hostages.
Hostages Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andri Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were freed from two rooms in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday after being kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Gunfire erupted from the compound as Israeli forces fired back, with commandos blasting open a door to enter the house before rescuing the hostages.
Bringing Them Back Safely
Screams and shouts could be heard throughout the house, later identified by Israel as belonging to Gaza journalist Abdallah Aljamal, who was holding the three hostages inside his family home.
As they enter the house, the officers encounter the hostages, who introduce themselves while huddling in a corner of a room amidst the intense gunfire outside.
An explosion is heard near the wall, causing Jan and Kozlov to flinch mid-sentence.
Police officers are seen directing the men away from the wall, with one officer offering Kozlov a fist bump to calm him down and reassure him that they will be safely returned to Israel.
The video then shows the officers quickly escorting the men out of the building amid continuous, intense gunfire.
The daring rescue on Saturday was carried out by Yamam officers alongside the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet intelligence agents.
Military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated that the apartments were approximately 200 meters apart, situated in the center of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
He said that the forces had conducted numerous training exercises using a replica of the apartment buildings. They executed a coordinated operation in daylight, simultaneously entering both apartments to maintain the element of surprise.
However, Hagari noted that the rescuers encountered intense gunfire as they withdrew, including rocket-propelled grenades fired by gunmen from within the neighborhood.
He added that the military responded with heavy force, deploying aircraft and other heavy assets, to extract the rescuers and the freed hostages.
Invading Unknown Territory
After the operation, the IDF reported that the three men had been held in Aljamal's family residence. He was fatally shot during the rescue mission. Aljamal was a regular contributor to the nonprofit news organization Palestine Chronicle in the United States. He also served as a spokesman for the labor ministry administered by Hamas.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released a follow-up video of the rescued guys inside an Israeli helicopter as they arrived in Israel, following the publication of the rescue film by the Israeli police.
The men were all reunited with their relatives inside a Tel Aviv hospital.
Noa Argamani, a 26-year-old Israeli lady who became the horrified face of the terrorist attack on the Jewish state on October 7, was also saved by the rescue squad.
Although claiming that the rescue effort was successful, Israel estimates that the raid resulted in "under 100" casualties.
The Hamas-run ministry of health claimed that 274 people had died, including civilians. Officials from Israel and the United States have blamed the deaths on Hamas' strategy of placing weapons in residential areas and taking hostages.
