Israel Hamas War News Live Updates: Israel Rescues Four Hostages During Gaza Raid That Hamas Says Killed 210 Palestinians

19:06 (IST), June 8

Netanyahu says Israel will not ‘give up’ after hostage rescue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that “Israel does not surrender to terrorism” after Israeli troops successfully rescued four hostages on Saturday. The hostages, identified as Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv, were held captive by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip after being abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7.

The rescued people were taken to hospital and their health condition is described as “good”. In a statement issued by the Situation Room, Netanyahu stressed his commitment to bringing home all hostages, both living and dead. The prime minister’s office also released a video of Netanyahu speaking on the phone with Argamani, in which she expressed her joy to be back home and mentioned that she had not spoken Hebrew for a long time. Netanyahu assured her that they would never give up on her.

A total of 251 hostages were taken during the militant attack on southern Israel on October 7, with 116 still remaining on Palestinian territory, including 41 presumed dead by the Israeli military. According to official Israeli figures compiled by AFP, the attack killed 1,194 people in Israel, mostly civilians. In response, Israel launched a bombing and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing 36,801 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled territory’s health ministry.