More than 200 Palestinians were killed as Israel raided Gaza to free four hostages, Hamas claims, in one of the bloodiest days of the war. During the mission, hailed as 'heroic' in Israel, the military said it freed the hostages under heavy fire and responded with strikes 'from the air and from the street'. But the ensuing attack on central Gaza's al Nuseirat, a historic Palestinian refugee camp, led to scenes like a 'horror movie', according to residents.
Israel named the rescued hostages as Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, whom the military said are in good health. They were all kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the deadly raid by Hamas-led Palestinian militants on Israeli towns and villages near Gaza on 7 October. About 250 hostages were taken back to Gaza during that attack, with Israeli authorities believing 116 hostages remain.