According to the Gaza health ministry administered by Hamas, 274 people, including children and other civilians, were killed in an Israeli operation on a refugee camp that resulted in the release of four captives.
Israel’s military engaged Hamas in fierce gunfights in and around the Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday, releasing hostages with the support of airstrikes.
The three people who were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7th—Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41—have been brought back to Israel.
According to Israeli military estimates, the operation claimed the lives of less than 100 individuals.
However, if verified, the most recent statistics from Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, would rank it among the deadliest days of the battle to far.
Residents of the heavily populated area have talked about how terrifying it is to be under heavy gunfire and intensive shelling.
One man, Abdel Salam Darwish, told the news that he heard gunshots and fighter jets overhead while he was purchasing vegetables in a market.
“Afterwards, people’s bodies were in pieces, scattered in the streets, and blood stained the walls,” he continued.
Israel has celebrated the return of the hostages to their families, while foreign leaders have praised the news of their release, including US President Joe Biden.
Nonetheless, the operation’s lethal cost has come under increasing fire, with EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell denouncing it “in the strongest terms.”
