Middle East battle: Reports of heavy combating throughout hostage rescue operation | EUROtoday

Middle East battle
Reports of heavy combating throughout hostage rescue operation

Following the liberation of 4 Israeli hostages within the Gaza Strip, an increasing number of particulars of the dramatic operation are rising. Israeli particular forces entered the refugee district of Nuseirat within the heart of the coastal strip in broad daylight on Saturday. According to media experiences on Sunday, three male hostages aged between 22 and 41 had been being held in a home, and a 26-year-old lady was being held in one other home round 200 meters away. In order to shock the hostage guards, the troops entered each buildings on the identical time at 11 a.m. native time.

Authority: Number of deaths in Nuseirat rises to 274

According to the Hamas-controlled well being authority, a minimum of 274 individuals had been killed. The authority additionally introduced on Sunday that nearly 700 individuals had been injured within the advance into the refugee district of Nuseirat.

This implies that a complete of greater than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed and round 84,500 injured within the Gaza Strip because the struggle started eight months in the past, it mentioned.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari mentioned the particular forces had been underneath hearth all through the long-planned operation. Armed Palestinians additionally used rocket-propelled grenades towards the troops. An Israeli officer was killed within the operation.

A rescue automobile carrying the hostages got here underneath heavy hearth and obtained caught, Israeli media reported on Sunday. According to army spokesman Hagari, troops attacked “sources of danger” in Nuseirat from the bottom, sea and air. The goal was to allow the rescue group to withdraw from the fight zone. Hagari rejected allegations that the troops had entered Nuseirat disguised in humanitarian help automobiles or through the US pier.

The 4 hostages had been finally flown to Israel by helicopter. The military launched a video displaying 26-year-old Noa Argamani being taken right into a helicopter on the seaside within the Gaza Strip.

US army: Gaza pier not used throughout liberation

The US army has denied rumors on social media that Israeli particular forces used the makeshift pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip in the course of the liberation. “The humanitarian pier, including its equipment, personnel and resources, was not used in the operation to rescue the hostages in Gaza,” the US regional command (Centcom), which is accountable for the Middle East, mentioned on Saturday night. A video had beforehand circulated on-line by which an Israeli army helicopter may apparently be seen taking off from the seaside close to the pier.

According to the US, an space south of the power was utilized by the Israelis to carry the hostages again to Israel. “All claims to the contrary are false,” the assertion mentioned. The pier was constructed solely for the aim of “bringing urgently needed life-saving aid to Gaza.” The Israeli army additionally rejected allegations that the troops entered the world disguised in humanitarian help automobiles or through the US pier.

dpa