At least 274 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were wounded in the Israeli raid that rescued four hostages held by Hamas, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday. The military said its forces came under heavy fire during the complex daytime operation deep inside the territory.
The killing of so many Palestinians, including women and children, in a raid that Israelis celebrated as a stunning success because all four hostages were rescued alive, showed the heavy cost of such operations on top of the already soaring toll of the 8-month-long war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Scores of hostages are believed to be held in densely populated areas or inside Hamas’ labyrinth of tunnels, making rescue attempts extremely complex and risky. A similar raid in February rescued two hostages while leaving 74 Palestinians dead.
The operation deep into Nuseirat, a built-up refugee camp in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, was the largest rescue since Oct. 7, when Hamas and other militants stormed across the border, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Israel launched a massive offensive that has killed over 36,700
Palestinians, according to the ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts.
It said nearly 700 people were wounded in Saturday’s raid. The ministry did not say how many of the casualties were women and children, but Associated Press reporters saw several being treated at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah in the aftermath of the raid.
AROUND 120 HOSTAGES STILL MISSING
Of the 250 hostages abducted on Oct. 7, about half were released in a weeklong cease-fire in November. About 120 hostages remain, with 43 pronounced dead. Survivors include about 15 women, two children under 5 and two men in their 80s.
Saturday’s operation brought the total number of rescued hostages to seven, including one who was freed shortly after the October attack. Israeli troops have recovered the bodies of at least 16 others, according to the government.
The latest rescue lifted some spirits in Israel as divisions deepened over the best way to bring hostages home. Many Israelis urge Netanyahu to embrace a cease-fire deal U.S. President Joe Biden announced last month, but far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does. Thousands of Israelis again gathered Saturday night to protest the government and call for a cease-fire agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East this week, seeking a breakthrough. International pressure is mounting on Israel to limit civilian bloodshed in its war in Gaza. Palestinians also face widespread hunger because fighting and Israeli restrictions have largely cut off the flow of aid.
