In a scene reminiscent of a spy thriller, the Israelis masqueraded as affluent Gaza families displaced from Rafah by the conflict.
They infiltrated the Nuseirat refugee camp to verify that 26-year-old Noa Argamani and three men were being held in the vicinity, the Jewish Chronicle reported Thursday.
One group, dressed in traditional Palestinian attire and speaking with Gazan Arabic accents, passed by the house where Argamani was detained, while another team covertly investigated the locations where Almog Meir Jan, 26, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were held in a nearby building after spending several days blending into the area, the Chronicle reported.
Once the hostages’ locations were confirmed, 28 commandos from the elite Yamam police counter-terrorism unit began preparing for the rescue.
They trained using two custom-built models that mimicked the structures where the hostages were held, according to the outlet.
Most of the undercover agents exited the area on the night of June 5, and the mission commenced the following day.
Argamani was successfully rescued and flown back to Israel after the terrorists guarding her were neutralized.
However, complications arose during the extraction of the three men from a different building.
Some commandos used a ladder to reach the exact room where the hostages were held, but about 30 Hamas terrorists in the building — equipped with machine guns and grenades — opened fire, surprising the Israeli forces.
A fierce firefight broke out while the three hostages were sheltered in a bathroom, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
During the clash, Yamam commander Arnon Zamora, 36, was mortally wounded.
As the Israeli commandos escorted the trio of hostages from the building, additional Hamas fighters emerged, firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at them.
Almog Meir Jan took refuge in a bathroom with two other hostages during the firefight.
Israeli firepower from the ground, air, and sea quickly reinforced the rescue mission, as hundreds of soldiers engaged Hamas in close combat.
The reinforcements ensured the hostages and their rescuers could safely escape and return to Israel.
The Hamas-backed Gaza health ministry claimed that 274 Palestinians were killed, though it did not specify how many were Hamas fighters.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Any reason the world (and Hamas) need to know this tactic? Whatever happened to the Israelis never showing their hand?
Perhaps a strategy for Hamas to suspect his Arab brethren and shoot them.
“274 Palestinians were killed”
oh really?
how do they know? And howd they know so fast?
Nothing is revealed without security clearance.
It has not been cleared to explain the reasons for this declaration.
Do something to help our brethren rather than acting as an armchair sleuth.