Breathtaking footage released by Israel on Monday night shows officers from the Yamam anti-terrorist unit braving gunfire and explosions to rescue three hostages from a Hamas compound.
Shocking footage captured by Israeli commandos' uniform cameras last Saturday initially shows them walking through trees as they approach one of the buildings where Hamas hostages Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andri Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41 years old.
Amid the sounds of gunfire, Yamam's police officers blow open a door to enter the interior of the first house. Screams and banging could be heard around the building, which Israel later said belonged to Gaza journalist Abdallah Aljamal - who was holding the three hostages inside his family home.
After entering the house, the officers find the hostages sitting terrified on the floor of a room, while gunshots continue to be heard from outside the house. As the hostages Jan and Kozlov say their names and speak to the commandos, another explosion is heard near the wall, taking them by surprise again.
Police officers are then seen directing the men away from the wall, with one of them trying to reassure Kozlov and assure him that they will return safely to Israel. The next shots in the video show the officers rushing the hostages out of the building, while loud, non-stop gunfire is heard.
Saturday's daring rescue was carried out by Yamam officers in collaboration with the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet intelligence agents.
After the operation, the IDF said the three men were being held at Aljamal's family home. He was killed during the rescue mission.
This is the moment the elite Yamam unit rescued former hostages Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov from captivity in Gaza.
Real life superheroes. pic.twitter.com/1fMGPu3xpz
- Israel ישראל (@Israel) June 10, 2024
Aljamal, who also worked as a spokesman for Hamas' Ministry of Labor, was a regular contributor to the Palestine Chronicle, a US-based non-profit news agency.
After Israeli police released footage of the rescue, the IDF released a video of its own showing the rescued men sitting safely inside an Israeli helicopter.
All the men were reunited with their families in a hospital in Tel Aviv.
The rescue team also rescued Noa Argamani, the 26-year-old Israeli whose face became a symbol of the horror of the October 7 terror attack in the Jewish state.
Israel described the rescue mission as a success, while estimating that there were "less than 100" casualties as a result of the raid.
However, the Hamas-run health ministry said 274 people, including civilians, were killed.
Both Israeli and US officials blamed the casualties on Hamas's tactics of holding hostages and stockpiling ammunition near civilian homes.
