Israel-Gaza war live: Hamas says more than 200 killed in Israel hostage rescue | Israel-Gaza war

The Hamas-run government media office said at least 210 Palestinians, including children, have been killed and more than 400 people have been wounded following Israel’s heavy air and ground assault in central Gaza, AFP reports.

There was no immediate confirmation of the figures from Gaza’s health ministry.

“The number of victims from the Israeli occupation’s massacre in the Nuseirat camp has risen to 210 martyrs and more than 400 wounded,” the Hamas media office said.

Near Nuseirat on Saturday, an AFP photographer saw scores of Palestinians running for cover in fear of further Israeli strikes.

It was reported earlier that the bodies of nearly 100 Palestinians were brought to the al-Aqsa martyrs’ hospital along with more than 100 injured, spokesperson Khalil Degran told the Associated Press.

Degran later told AP that overall, 210 dead had been taken to al-Aqsa martyrs’ hospital and to al-Awda hospital, saying he had spoken to the director there. Al-Awda’s numbers could not immediately be confirmed.

AP reporters saw dozens of bodies brought to al-Aqsa hospital from the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah areas. A baby was among the dead.

Israelis were jubilant as Israel’s military on Saturday carried out its largest hostage rescue operation since its latest war with Hamas began last October, taking four to safety out of central Gaza in a heavy air and ground assault, AP reports.

Footage posted on social media showed beachgoers erupting into cheers in Tel Aviv when a lifeguard announced the news.

The army said it freed Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, in a daytime operation in the heart of Nuseirat, raiding two locations at once while under fire. All were well, the military said. They were taken by helicopter for medical checks and reunions with loved ones after 246 days held.

Argamani had been one of the most widely recognised hostages after being taken, like the three others, from the Nova music festival targeted by Hamas during its 7 October raid on Israel.

Her mother, Liora, has brain cancer and had released a video pleading to see her daughter. Israel’s Channel 13 said Argamani was moved to the hospital where her mother is treated. In a message released by the government, Argamani told prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu she was “very excited”, saying she hadn’t heard Hebrew in so long.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement vowed to continue the fighting until all hostages are freed.

The operation was “daring in nature, planned brilliantly, and executed in an extraordinary fashion”, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said.

Below is our video report on the release of the hostages.

US Central Command (Centcom) has confirmed aid has been delivered into Gaza from a newly repaired American-built pier after it suffered storm damage, the Associated Press reports.

In a post on X, Centcom confirmed aid was delivered in Gaza via the pier yesterday morning.

“Today at approximately 10:30 a.m. [Gaza time] U.S. Central Command [USCENTCOM] began delivery of humanitarian assistance ashore in Gaza. Today, a total of approximately 492 metric tons [~1.1 million pounds] of much needed humanitarian assistance was delivered to the people of Gaza.”

The pier constructed by the American military was only operational for about a week before it was blown apart in high winds and heavy seas on 25 May. The damaged section was reconnected to the beach in Gaza on Friday after undergoing repairs at an Israeli port.

UN agencies and humanitarian aid groups have warned sea or air deliveries cannot replace far more efficient truck convoys into Gaza, where the United Nations has repeatedly warned of looming famine.

Israeli restrictions on land crossings, and fighting, have greatly limited the flow of food and other vital supplies into the territory.

Welcome back to our continuing live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East conflict. I’m Hayden and I’ll be bringing you the latest updates this morning.

The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s hostage rescue raid in al-Nuseirat has risen to 210, Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office says. There was no immediate confirmation of the figure from Gaza’s health ministry.

The raid led to the rescue of four Israeli hostages held by Hamas since 7 October.

It was reported earlier that the bodies of nearly 100 Palestinians were brought to the al-Aqsa martyrs’ hospital along with more than 100 injured, spokesperson Khalil Degran told the Associated Press.

Degran later told AP that overall, 210 dead had been taken to al-Aqsa martyrs’ hospital and to al-Awda hospital, saying he had spoken to the director there. Al-Awda’s numbers couldn’t immediately be confirmed. AP journalists reported seeing dozens of bodies brought to AlAqsa hospital from the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah areas.

Meanwhile, the US military says humanitarian aid has been delivered into Gaza from a newly repaired American-built pier, following problems that had plagued the effort to bring supplies to Palestinians by sea.

US central command posted on X that crews delivered about 492 tonnes (1.1 million pounds) of “much needed humanitarian assistance” via the pier on Saturday morning.

UN agencies and humanitarian aid groups have warned sea or air deliveries cannot replace far more efficient truck convoys into Gaza, where the United Nations has repeatedly warned of looming famine.

An Antigua and Barbuda-flagged general cargo ship was struck by a missile 83 nautical miles south-east of Yemen’s Aden and caught fire before it was contained, according to British security firm Ambrey.

More details shortly, in other key developments:

• Israeli forces rescued four hostages alive from the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, the military said. The four hostages, three men and one woman, had been kidnapped from the Nova music festival on 7 October and were taken to hospital for medical checks, Reuters reports. The army said it rescued Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, in a complex special daytime operation in Nuseirat, AP reported.

• An Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Aitaroun in southern Lebanon killed two people, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported on Saturday. Israel’s IDF said in a statement that its soldiers had identified a Hezbollah militant in the area of Aitaroun and shortly afterward an Israeli aircraft had struck the individual.

• US president Joe Biden welcomed the return of four Israeli hostages rescued alive in Gaza. Speaking at a news conference with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, Biden said he joined his host in welcoming the return of the hostages and vowed: “We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a ceasefire is reached.”

• The Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said that special forces operated under heavy fire and in a complex urban environment when rescuing four hostages from Hamas in Gaza on Saturday.

• Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel does not give into terrorism and that it is operating “creatively and bravely” to bring home the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. “We are committed to do so in the future as well. We will not let up until we complete the mission and return home all the hostages – both those alive and dead,” Netanyahu said.

• At least 36,801 Palestinians have been killed and more than 83,680 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the health ministry in Gaza said in a statement on Saturday.

• Israel says more than 130 hostages remain, with about a quarter of those believed dead, and divisions are deepening in the country over the best way to bring them home.