ReutersThe Israeli military has freed four hostages in central Gaza, an operation that had been planned for weeks.
For Israelis, this brought celebration and relief. Adding to the misery for Palestinians, hospitals said dozens of people, including children, were killed in attacks in the densely populated Nuserat refugee camp.
The attack, dubbed “Summer Seed,” was unusually carried out during daylight hours, which the IDF said gave it a greater surprise effect.
Since it was mid-morning, the streets were crowded with people shopping at the nearby market.
It also means that Israeli special forces face greater risks, not just entering, but especially leaving.
Israeli police said a special forces officer was injured and died in hospital.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s chief spokesman, said of Israel’s 1976 rescue of 100 hostages in Uganda that it was “similar in scale to Entebbe.”
He said that based on intelligence, after entering Gaza from Israel, special commandos simultaneously raided two residential apartments where Nuserat held hostages.
The hostage, Noa Argamani, 26, lived in an apartment. The other ones are Shlomi Ziv, 41, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Almog Meir Jan, 22 .
Mr Hagari said they were not kept in cages but in locked rooms surrounded by guards.
He said Israeli commandos forced their way in, seized the hostages, wrapped them to provide a protective shield and tied them to military vehicles outside.
As they left, he said they faced fierce resistance from Palestinian militants.
Hagari said the Israeli military had planned the attack in detail and even built models of two apartments for training.
Cell phone video from the scene showed missiles whizzing in, gunshots ringing out, and people diving for cover.
Later footage showed bodies scattered in the street.
The attack apparently involved a large amount of force. Doctors at two hospitals in central Gaza said they had counted more than 70 bodies.
Hagari estimated that fewer than 100 people were killed, while the Hamas media office said more than 200 were killed.
The BBC was unable to verify the number of casualties.
“I have collected the bodies of my children, my dear children,” Nora Abu Khamees, who had taken refuge in Nuserat, told the BBC in tears.
“My other child is between life and death. Even my husband and my mother-in-law, our whole family is destroyed. This is a genocide.
Ten-year-old Areej Al Zahdneh spoke at a nearby hospital and told us of airstrikes, tanks and shootings.
“We couldn’t breathe. My sister Reemaz was hit in the head by shrapnel, my five-year-old sister Yara was also hit by shrapnel.
