[13][14][15] Four Israeli captives were rescued—Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov—from two multi-story residential apartment buildings in Nuseirat.
[20] Following the operation, Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubaida warned that it would result in greater threats to the Israeli hostages.
[21] The Qassam Brigades later released a short video saying that the raid had also killed three unnamed Israeli hostages, including one with dual citizenship of the USA.
The Nuseirat refugee camp was established in the Gaza Strip after the Palestinians were expelled or fled from Israel during the 1948 Palestine war.
[32] All four hostages rescued had been abducted from the Re'im music festival, and were identified as Noa Argamani (26-years-old), Almog Meir Jan (22-years-old), Andrey Kozlov (27-years-old), and Shlomi Ziv (41-years-old).
The doctor in charge of treatment for the rescued hostages said they were beaten and showed signs of malnutrition due to a lack of adequate food while in captivity.
Prof. Itai Pesach at the Sheba Medical Centre who treated the three male hostages, stated that they suffered from severe trauma and had muscle atrophy due to malnutrition.
[39][41] The entire Gaza Strip has faced severe food shortages since 9 October 2023,[42] which were ongoing at the time of the raid.
[50] The operation began at about 11 a.m., with the Yamam and Shin Bet officers raiding two multi-story buildings about 200 meters apart, in the center of Nusseirat, where the hostages were reportedly held in two family homes.
[52] The IDF stated that, at the time of the rescue, the three male hostages were being held in the family home of Ahmed Al-Jamal, a physician.
[54] Al Jazeera disputed IDF allegations that Abdullah Al-Jamal had been one of its journalists, stating that he had contributed to an opinion piece published on its website but had no other involvement with the network.
[56] The Palestine Chronicle claimed inconsistencies in the Israeli narrative,[56] but a Wall Street Journal investigation found that the Al-Jamal family had been known for its close ties with and support of Hamas.
[57] During the extraction of the three male hostages, a major gun battle reportedly erupted, causing the mortal wounding of the commander of the Yamam rescue team for that building.
[58] A witness in the camp reported a "crazy bombardment" occurred suddenly, while another stated that the strike happened when people were sleeping.
[60] Per a resident and paramedic in the camp, the assault felt like a "horror movie" and that Israeli drones and warplanes fired randomly throughout the night at peoples homes and those who tried to flee the area.
Videos were posted to social media, reportedly showing corpses with entrails spilling out lying on blood-stained streets after the attack, although Reuters was unable to immediately verify the footage.
[51] Additional footage showed Palestinians in the market area diving for cover as missiles flew in and gunfire erupted.
The denial followed the release of imagery showing the landing zone used for the air evacuation immediately south along the coast from the pier, with the U.S. facility clearly visible in the near background.
[62] According to reports, "at least one of the vehicles" containing the three male captives broke down and the Israeli military called in support, "attacking from the air, from the sea and on the ground with massive force.
Eyal Shahtout, a resident of a neighboring building, informed The New York Times that his home was hit, resulting in many of his family members being buried under the debris.
According to a statement from Doctors without Borders, which works nearby at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, "there have been back-to-back mass casualties as densely populated areas are bombed.
[50] The UN human rights office said that both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups may have committed war crimes, citing potential "violations of rules of proportionality, distinction and precaution" in the case of the former and "holding hostages in densely populated areas" for the latter.
The Gaza Health Ministry stated on the same day as the operation that the number of victims "has risen to 210 martyrs and more than 400 wounded."
"[68] Ziad, a paramedic and resident of Nuseirat and Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for al-Qassam Brigades referred to the attack as a massacre.
[8][71] In addition, a large firefight occurred as IDF special forces were attempting to extract the hostages, reportedly coming under fire from dozens of militants with RPGs and machine guns when their vehicle became stuck.
[77] Arab Israeli actress and TV presenter Lama Tatour was fired after she created a post on Instagram regarding Noa Argamani's appearance.