June 8: Rallies celebrate rescue of 4 hostages, urge deal to free remaining captives

‘I’m fine now, thank you everyone,’ rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan tells media

Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan is reunited with his family at Sheba Medical Center, June 8, 2024. (IDF)

Almog Meir Jan makes his first comments to the media after he was rescued from eight-month captivity in Gaza earlier today.

“Thank you, thank you everyone, Am Yisrael Chai,” he tells Kan public radio. “I’m completely fine now, I’m with the supportive family. Thanks for everything.”

His mother Orit tells the radio station that his true condition remains to be seen, adding that the family is deeply moved and there is a “flood of emotions” as many have visited him today at the hospital.

Russian ambassador hails hostages’ rescue, without mentioning Hamas

Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov releases a statement celebrating the rescue of Russian-Israeli Andrey Kozlov and three other abductees, but neglects to mention Hamas or the terror group’s October 7 attacks.

“Without the full knowledge of the details of the rescue operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces,” writes Viktorov, “first of all, I would like to share with the relatives and friends of the now former hostages the joy of the safe rescue of their relatives from eight months of captivity and reunification with their families.”

He adds that Russia has prioritized the release of hostages “from the very beginning of the unprecedented escalation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Israeli counterpart Israel Katz discussed Russian citizens being held in Gaza on June 7, says the statement.

Three Russian citizens — Ron Krivoy, Irina Tatty and Elena Trufanova — were previously released. Alexander Trufanov and Alexander Lobanov remain in captivity.

Viktorov emphasizes that “not further escalation, but only an early cessation of hostilities adequately responds to the solution of all urgent humanitarian problems, including the release of the hostages remaining in Gaza.”

Parents of rescued hostage Andrey Kozlov heading from Russia to Israel

The parents of rescued Israeli-Russian hostage Andrey Kozlov at the airport in Saint Petersburg on their way to Israel, June 8, 2024. (Israeli Foreign Ministry)

The parents of Andrey Kozlov, the Russian-Israeli hostage rescued from Gaza today along with three other abductees, are on their way from Saint Petersburg to Israel, the Foreign Ministry says.

They will land in Israel Sunday morning and will then head straight to Sheba Medical Center to be reunited with their son.

Blinken welcomes rescue of hostages, calls on Hamas to accept proposed deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomes the IDF rescue of four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

“The United States will not rest until every hostage is returned home,” Blinken says.

“The proposal that President [Joe] Biden outlined eight days ago would bring relief to both the people of Gaza and the remaining hostages and their families through an immediate ceasefire that could lead to the release of all hostages, a surge of humanitarian assistance, Gaza’s reconstruction and an enduring end to the war,” he adds.

“The only thing standing in the way of achieving this ceasefire is Hamas. It is time for them to accept the deal,” Blinken says.

Health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza claim 210 killed in IDF hostage rescue op

Hospital officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza are claiming that 210 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s operation that rescued four hostages from Gaza, in unverified figures that don’t differentiate between combatants and civilians.

The Associated Press cites Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital spokesperson Khalil Degran as saying the bodies of 109 Palestinians including 23 children and 11 women were taken to the hospital. He adds that 101 others were taken to Al-Awda Hospital, saying he spoke to the director there.

The IDF has acknowledged that it killed Palestinian civilians amid the fighting today, but placed the blame on Hamas for holding hostages and fighting in a dense civilian environment.

“We know about under 100 [Palestinian] casualties. I don’t know how many of them are terrorists,” IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing with journalists, reported by Reuters.

Police arrest at least 10 at Tel Aviv protest, tackling some to the ground

Police arrest at least 10 protesters at the anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv.

The Times of Israel witnesses several arrests in which police tackle demonstrators to the ground.

Mounted police push the protesters off of Democracy Square to the sidewalks of Kaplan Street.

לפחות שני מעצרים אלימים בדקות האחרונות בקפלן pic.twitter.com/qWW8yIhjLy

— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) June 8, 2024

Hours after her rescue, ex-hostage Noa Argamani celebrates her father’s birthday

Noa Argamani, right, a hostage rescued from Gaza earlier in the day, celebrates her father’s birthday at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, June 8, 2024. (Courtesy/Ichilov)

Rescued hostage Noa Argamani celebrates her father Yaakov’s birthday with him, family members and medical staff at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

Noa Argamani was rescued earlier today from Gaza by officers of the police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit, along with Shin Bet agents and IDF forces in a heroic coordinated mission. Argamani was extracted from a house in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, while fellow captives Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv were rescued from a nearby house in the same refugee camp.

Argamani was originally taken by helicopter to Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan with the other freed hostages. However, she was transferred for ongoing care at Ichilov so that she could be close to her mother Liora, who is being treated there for stage four terminal brain cancer.

עוגת יום הולדת :????
יעקב ארגמני, אביה של נועה, חוגג הערב את יום הולדתו לצד נועה, המשפחה, החברים והצוות בבית החולים איכילוב.. pic.twitter.com/8QeM3T9ydY

— מה חדש. What's new❓ (@Gloz111) June 8, 2024

Reports: In ruse to Hamas, Gantz may have planned to nix press conference from the start

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz may have scheduled this evening’s ultimately canceled press conference — in which he was widely expected to quit the government — in order to allay Hamas suspicions about today’s hostage rescue operation in Gaza.

According to Hebrew media, citing unnamed sources close to Gantz, the National Unity party leader had intended to cancel his announcement from the beginning — despite real tensions between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — as Gantz was reportedly privy in real-time to details of the planned operation.

That raid ended with security forces rescuing four hostage taken from Israel on October 7.

Last month, Gantz went on television to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu, threatening to withdraw from the coalition unless the premier commits to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict by this evening. His party later submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset. Yesterday, he announced a press conference for this evening, which was called off hours ago.

In uncoordinated move, hundreds of Jerusalem anti-government protesters block junction

Hundreds of demonstrators calling for a hostage deal block Paris Square intersection in Jerusalem on June 8, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Hundreds of protesters calling for a hostage deal and for new elections are currently blocking the Paris Square intersection in Jerusalem.

This mass act of civil disobedience caught law enforcement by surprise, with organizers having led the general public to believe that a march to Independence Park would follow the weekly rally outside the prime minister’s residence.

Instead, march leaders called on attendees to sit in the center of the street.

“We don’t want more killings, this is the time for agreements!” protesters chant.

Many are holding signs demanding a hostage deal and an end to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

Protest leader chastises Gantz for putting off withdrawal from government

Anti-government protest leader Nava Rozolyo speaks at a Herzliya rally on June 8, 2024. (Courtesy/screenshot)

Anti-government protest leader Nava Rozolyo speaking at a rally at Herzliya city hall, thanks IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, along with the Israel police and security forces, for the rescue of four hostages held by Hamas in an operation today.

She then turns her wrath on the current government, starting with war cabinet member Benny Gantz, who canceled his planned press conference this evening in which he was expected to announce leaving the government.

“For the thousandth time, Benny Gantz is not doing what he said he’d do,” says Rozolyo, a lawyer who has been one of the activists leading the protests against the government.

She compares Gantz to the little Dutch boy from the Hans Brinker book who plugs a dike with his finger, saving his homeland.

“He joined the disastrous government,” said Rozolyo. “We’re not in the Netherlands and we have been calling to him for months — he won’t save the village, he didn’t prevent anything in the last eight months, in any area.”

Rozolyo claims that US President Joe Biden is the only savior of Israel.

She calls for the Israeli public to go out to the streets to steer the country back in the right direction.

Otherwise, says Rozolyo, “disaster will follow disaster,” and the current government “will destroy the Zionist dream and all we accomplished in the last 76 years.”

“Everyone needs to rise and go to the bridges, and town squares and roads and the capital, and we’ll yell across from the Knesset, go, go, go!” She says. “We’ll make sure he hears.”

Argamani learned Arabic from her captors, who gave her food when she asked, reluctantly let her shower

Hours after she was rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza, Noa Argamani arrives at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital to be reunited with her mother Liora who has terminal cancer, June 8, 2024 (Ichilov Hospital)

Noa Argamani has told her loved ones that the home from where she was rescued by the IDF was that of a fairly well-to-do Gaza family, Channel 12 reports.

She says they had to be persuaded to let her shower, but that they gave her food when she asked for it.

She did not see much daylight, she further says.

She says she learned some Arabic from the family and spoke to them in Arabic. The father of the family told her that she “was blessed by God” to be held by his family.

Relatives and friends say she is smiling “from ear to ear” and is in good physical and mental health, the report adds.

A Channel 13 report says Argamani has confirmed to her family that she was held for part of her time together with hostages Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky, whose deaths in captivity were announced in January. In February, an IDF investigation concluded that Sharabi was likely inadvertently killed in an IDF strike. Sharabi was believed to have been in a building that collapsed after an adjacent building was hit by the military, the probe found.

Argamani says she saw a missile hit the building, and was sure she was going to die, the Channel 13 report says.

She has also said she was moved between homes several times, but was not held in tunnels.

Herzog congratulates IDF chief, condemns unspecified political attacks on him

President Isaac Herzog congratulates IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi following today’s rescue of four hostages from the central Gaza Strip and condemns “the attacks of the last few days” against Halevi and other members of the security services.

Speaking with Halevi, Herzog expresses his “deep appreciation for the commanders and soldiers who brought about the rescue of the hostages from Hamas captivity” and “strongly condemned the attacks of the last few days against the chief of staff personally and against the IDF and its servicemen, and expressed his appreciation for their activities in this challenging and sensitive period,” according to a statement by the president’s office.

It is unclear which attacks he is referring to. Over the past several months, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have repeatedly insisted that the current IDF leadership cannot be allowed to appoint new senior commanders in light of the military’s failure on October 7.

‘Kill another Zionist now’: Pro-terror demonstrators converge near White House

Pro-Hamas and Hezbollah US demonstrators are staging a protest near the White House, calling for “jihad.”

Reports on social media appear to show masked demonstrators chanting slogans urging Hamas’s military wing to “kill another soldier now” and calling on Hezbollah to “kill another Zionist now.”

"Jihad of Victory or Martydrom" one banner reads the quote by Al Quassam.

Thousands of people are expected to "Surround the White House" today to protest for Palestine. pic.twitter.com/wqNw8IoLNH

— Oliya Scootercaster ???? (@ScooterCasterNY) June 8, 2024

???? HAPPENING NOW: Pro-Hamas Protesters Call for MURDER of Zionists Outside White House

⚠️ Domestic Terrorists March with a “Jihad of Victory or Martyrdom” Banner, Chanting for Other Terrorists to Kill More Jews

???? Outside the White House, traitors to the West, carried a banner… pic.twitter.com/FcgX36oFNO

— Shirion Collective (@ShirionOrg) June 8, 2024

‘Free Palestine’ protestors are demonstrating against the White House, calling for the murder of Zionists (i.e. most Jews).

When you live in a political culture that systematically dehumanizes “Zionists,” the eventual outgrowth of dehumanization is violence. History tells us… pic.twitter.com/g8Knc1MGbc

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) June 8, 2024

Rescued hostage says he saw TV reports on rallies urging his release while in captivity

Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan is reunited with his family at Sheba Medical Center, June 8, 2024. (IDF)

Almog Meir Jan has said that he, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv were held together throughout their eight months in captivity, in a total of four homes, Channel 12 reports.

He was asleep in bed when IDF forces arrived to free him, he also says.

He says he saw television broadcasts at times during captivity, including footage from rallies urging his release and that of the other hostages, and was very moved, the TV report adds.

He also told his family that a few weeks ago, on his birthday, he was filmed by Hamas for a planned propaganda video which his captors said would be screened in Israel. In fact, Hamas did not publish the video. On his release, Jan asked his family if they had seen it.

Tel Aviv protesters try to reach highway, are stopped by mounted police, cops bring in water cannon

Police bring in a water cannon to disperse anti-government protesters on Kaplan Street, Tel Aviv, June 8, 2024. (Iddo Schejter/Times of Israel)

Anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv march toward the Ayalon Highway but are apprehended by police on horseback.

Drums are beaten and fireworks are lit as small skirmishes between police and protesters ensue.

Police bring in a water cannon to disperse protesters.

In Tel Aviv, hostage families urge deal, fearing rescue op will harm condition of captives

Hostage families protest in Tel Aviv, June 8, 2024. (Iddo Schejter/Times of Israel)

Protesters at the hostage families’ demonstration in Tel Aviv call for a deal to release the remaining 120 captives in Gaza.

Hostage relatives speak one after the other on Azrieli Bridge over Begin Road, stressing that the four hostages who were rescued by Israeli forces today said they were aware of the protests calling for their release while they were in captivity.

Several hostage family members, while joyous over the operation, express fear that the mission could negatively influence the condition of the remaining hostages, further emphasizing the urgency of a deal.

Demonstrators begin marching south toward Democracy Square.

Jerusalem protesters urge hostage deal, hailing rescue op but lamenting deaths of other captives

Hundreds of protesters calling for a hostage deal gathered at Paris Square on June 8, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Hundreds of protesters calling for a hostage deal are rallying in Jerusalem’s Paris Square tonight in the wake of the IDF’s rescue of four hostages — Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv — earlier today.

The IDF also confirmed the deaths of another four hostages last Monday: Nadav Popplewell, Amiram Cooper, Yoram Metzger and Haim Peri.

On the central stage at the rally are large photos of the slain hostages as Tom Barkai, a relative of Haim Peri and organizer with the Jerusalem branch of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, speaks to the crowd.

“They were alive, and because of the government and this failure of a cabinet they are no longer alive,” says Barkai.

Barkai brings up today’s rescue operation, met by cheering and clapping from the crowd.

“There is nothing more important, every hostage must return!” protesters chant.

At the top of the street a few meters away, a group of religious Zionist teenagers are singing and dancing over Barkai’s speech.

After speeches conclude in Paris Square, protesters will march to Independence Park.

Deri calls on Gantz not to leave coalition: ‘We’ll do everything to return hostages home’

Following today’s daring daylight rescue of four hostages from the central Gaza Strip, Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri calls on National Unity chairman Benny Gantz not to leave the emergency coalition, as he had been widely expected to do tonight.

Promising that the government “will continue to do everything to return all the hostages home,” Deri appeals to Gantz “to retract his intention to resign from the government.”

“This is not the time for elections,” he says, stating that “Israel is still in the middle of a challenging campaign in the south and in the north and internal unity among us is critical in the continuation of the war, on the frontlines and on the home front.”

“Only together we will win,” he insists.

Gantz was due to deliver a public announcement this evening in which he was widely expected to announce his exit from the government. He canceled his press conference following the announcement of the rescue operation.

Following the rescue, the prime minister tweeted a plea to Gantz not to leave, stating that it was “the time for unity and not for division.”

In response, Gantz replied that “alongside the justified joy in the achievement, we must remember that all the challenges Israel faces have remained as they were. Therefore, I tell the prime minister and the entire leadership — today, too, we must consider responsibly how it is best and possible to continue from here.”

IDF strikes terror targets in Lebanon; Hezbollah claims to fire Falaq-2 rockets at Israel for 1st time

Israeli fighter jets completed a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon a short while ago, targeting a cell and rocket launchers, the military says.

The Hezbollah cell was identified entering a building used by the terror group in Markaba. A short while later the building was struck, according to the IDF.

The IDF says fighter jets also hit four Hezbollah rocket launchers in Chihine, Zibqin, Hanine, and Houla.

Earlier this evening, a Hezbollah barrage of five rockets on the Galilee Panhandle sparked a fire, the military says.

Several more anti-tank guided missiles were launched at Malkia and Misgav Am, causing damage to buildings and sparking another fire in the latter.

The IDF says it shelled the sources of fire with artillery.

Firefighters are working to extinguish the blazes.

Hezbollah has taken responsibility for at least 10 attacks on northern Israel today, claiming to use heavy Falaq-2 rockets for the first time.

כוחות סיירת גולני זיהו מוקדם יותר היום מחבלים נכנסים למבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרכבא שבדרום לבנון. בסגירת מעגל מהאוויר, מטוסי קרב תקפו את המבנה בו שהו המחבלים>> pic.twitter.com/KBuDuKkJg6

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 8, 2024

Protesters gather nationwide to call for hostage deal, new elections

Artist Zeev Engelmayer holds his painting depicting Noa Argamani, one of four hostages rescued by the Israeli army, as activists rally in Tel Aviv, on June 8, 2024. (Jack Guez / AFP)

In cities and towns across Israel, protesters gather to demand a deal for the remaining 120 hostages in Gaza, after news of the successful rescue of four hostages earlier in the day.

In Haifa, Caesarea, Beersheba and Hod Hasharon, protesters call for new elections and a hostage deal.

Several dozen people gather in the desert town of Mizpe Ramon, while thousands march up north in Haifa. A convoy of tractors rolls down to Karkur Junction in the north, where protesters also sit on the street to block traffic, before being shoved by police officers off the road.

At Amiad Junction in the north, protesters block traffic with bales of hay and other crops as residents, evacuated from the region for the last eight months, protest against the government, asking when will they be able to return home.

Meanwhile in Tel Aviv, tens of thousands gather at Democracy Square, where one of the speakers calling on the government to make a deal is Ayala Metzger, daughter-in-law of Yoram Metzger, one of the four hostages killed by Hamas in Gaza.

Artist Zeev Engelmayer, who has been drawing pictures of hostages, October 7 victims and others affected by the Hamas onslaught, stands in Tel Aviv holding up his etching of Noa Argamani, who was rescued by IDF forces earlier in the day.

Ben Gvir argues rescue op shows military pressure, not deal, is how to free hostages

The rescue of four Israeli hostages from Gaza earlier today shows that it is unnecessary to reach a deal with Hamas to bring home captives, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declares.

Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, who had been abducted from the Supernova music festival, were liberated from captivity in a daring daylight operation carried out by officers of the police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit and agents of the Shin Bet security service.

Ben Gvir has repeatedly threatened to bolt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition if he agrees to a hostage deal ending the war.

“The heroic action of the Yamam and the other security forces shows that there is hope and it is possible to defeat [our] enemies and return the abductees home and not to capitulate,” Ben Gvir says in a statement mourning the death of Yamam officer Arnon Zmora during the operation.

“Arnon was a brave warrior who impressed everyone who met him with his love of Israel and his devotion,” he says, adding that “the soldiers of the Yamam unit of the Israel Police are the spearhead of the security forces,” and that “only through great and continuous military pressure will we be able to return the rest of the abductees to their homes.”

Fellow far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also welcomes the operation.

“With a heart full of joy and excitement, welcome back Noa, Andrey, Almog and Shlomi, how much we waited and prayed for your return,” he tweets. “The entire nation of Israel salutes the security forces for the heroic operation and embraces the family of the soldier Arnon Zmora for his sacrifice for the nation of Israel.”

IDF: 2 rockets fired from Gaza toward Sderot, one intercepted and second hit open area

Two rockets were launched from the northern Gaza Strip at the Sderot area a short while ago.

The IDF says one was intercepted by the Iron Dome, while the second rocket struck an open area near Kfar Aza.

There are no reports of injuries.

At Tel Aviv rally, Netanyahu slammed for ignoring families of dead hostages but meeting rescuees

An aerial view of an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv, June 8, 2024. (Amir Goldstein)

Speakers at an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv speak out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government’s conduct.

Several pro-government demonstrators get into the crowd, shouting with pro-government signs, but are rebuffed and shoved away by anti-government demonstrators.

Former IDF intel chief Amos Malka calls today’s rescue mission that saved four hostages “an incredible operational success in a sea of strategic failures,” adding that today’s operation was more complex than Operation Entebbe, which released over 100 Israeli hostages in Uganda in 1976.

He also criticizes Netanyahu for rushing to meet and be photographed with released hostages and their families after not having contacted the families of hostages who were killed in captivity.

“We’re losing everything, crops are being burnt, tourism is collapsing, the small businesses that are still operating are collapsing, and worst of all, our communities are collapsing,” said Reut Forstner Avraham, an activist and resident of Israel’s bombarded north.

As the demonstration ends, protesters walk to Begin Road to join the hostage families’ protest.

Noa Argamani reunited with mother Liora, who has terminal cancer and is in serious condition

Hours after she was rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza, freed hostage Noa Argamani arrives at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital to be reunited with her mother Liora who has terminal cancer, June 8, 2024 (Ichilov Hospital)

Noa Argamani, rescued by Israeli troops from Gaza where she was held hostage, has been reunited with her mother Liora who has terminal cancer, the director of Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital says.

“The whole family has been reunited,” Prof. Roni Gamzu says, according to the Ynet news site.

“Noa’s mother is hospitalized here due to a very advanced cancer, the last eight months have been extremely complex and difficult, and her condition has progressed even over the past few days and it’s a serious situation,” Gamzu says.

Indicating Liora’s dire condition, Ganzu says hospital staff “estimate that yes, Liora understands the situation and Noa’s return.

“This reunion happened after a lot of anticipation and many months. Noa learned together with the whole family about her mother’s complex condition. Noa herself is in good condition and will of course continue with tests and evaluation,” Gamzu says.

Liora Argamani, 61, has stage four brain cancer and has said that her last wish was to see her daughter again.

Liora Argamani in a recorded video message on November 29, 2023, for her daughter, Noa Argamani, held hostage by Hamas since October 7, 2023. (Courtesy Sarai Givaty and Keren Kozlova)

Rocket sirens sound in communities close to Gaza border

Sirens warn of incoming rocket fire in a number of communities close to the Gaza border.

Alerts are heard in Sderot, Kfar Aza, Ibim, Nir Am and Mefalsim.

Netanyahu urges Gantz not to bolt coalition; Gantz: We must consider how to continue from here

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets a plea to war cabinet minister Benny Gantz not to leave the emergency government, as he was widely expected to do tonight until the successful rescue of four live hostages from Gaza.

“This is the time for unity and not for division,” the premier posts. “We must stay unified among ourselves in the face of the big tasks ahead of us. I call on Benny Gantz — don’t leave the emergency government. Don’t give up on unity.”

In a statement issued minutes later, Gantz responds that “alongside the justified joy in the achievement, we must remember that all the challenges Israel faces have remained as they were. Therefore, I tell the prime minister and the entire leadership — today, too, we must consider responsibly how it is best and possible to continue from here.”

IDF says under 100 Palestinian casualties, including terrorists, in rescue op; Hamas claims 210 ‘martyrs’

IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari says its forces came under intense fire during the rescue operation in Gaza’s Nuseirat and that they responded by firing “from the air and from the street.”

“We know about under 100 [Palestinian] casualties. I don’t know how many of them are terrorists,” he says in a briefing with journalists, reported by Reuters.

According to AFP, the Hamas media office claims “210 martyrs” were killed and over 400 injured, and accuses the IDF of a “massacre” and of engaging in “brutal and savage aggression on Nuseirat camp.” The terror group’s figures cannot be verified and do not distinguish between its own gunmen and civilians.

Reuters quotes Gazan paramedics and residents saying scores of people were killed in the operation.

The IDF has said that the four hostages were held in the homes of Gaza families in two Hamas-controlled buildings.

Sister of rescued hostage pays tribute to officer killed during mission

Shlomi Ziv is pictured with his sister Revital Nasi (right) and cousin after he was rescued from Gaza in a military operation, June 8, 2024. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Revital Nasi, the sister of hostage Shlomi Ziv who was rescued in this morning’s operation in Gaza, expresses her gratitude to the family of the officer killed in the operation.

“We are so sorry and just want to say thank you,” she says tearfully in a direct address to the family of Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, a Yamam officer critically wounded in the operation who died of his wounds.

“We have to bring everyone home, and it can’t always be through military operations,” she says on Channel 12, echoing the hostage families’ calls for a deal with Hamas.

US President Joe Biden announced last week what he described as an Israeli proposal for a hostage-ceasefire deal. Hamas has not yet formally responded to the proposal, but officials in the terror group have reiterated their insistence that any agreement must guarantee an end to the war, a demand Israel has repeatedly ruled out.

Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida threatens lives of remaining hostages after rescue op

Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida threatens the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip after a rescue operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp that freed four captives.

“The operation will pose a great danger to the enemy prisoners and will have a negative impact on their conditions and lives,” he says in a statement.

EU’s Borrell hails freedom of four hostages, urges truce deal, blasts ‘reports from Gaza of another massacre’

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell welcomes the freedom of four hostages in an operation in the Gaza Strip but stresses that the only way to free all the captives is through the proposed Israeli truce and hostage deal announced by US President Joe Biden last week.

He also says, “Reports from Gaza of another massacre of civilians are appalling. We condemn this in the strongest terms. The bloodbath must end immediately,” referring to the unverified high number of casualties claimed by Hamas officials in the operation.

Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv are free and safe today.

We share the relief of their families and call for the release of all the remaining hostages.@POTUS 3-stage plan is the way forward to rescue all the hostages and end the suffering.

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 8, 2024

IDF releases footage of Noa Argamani being extracted from Gaza by helicopter

The IDF releases footage showing rescued hostage Noa Argamani being extracted from the Gaza Strip in a helicopter this morning.

Argamani was rescued by Yamam officers from a building in Nuseirat. In a separate building, three more hostages were rescued.

All four were brought to military helicopters in Gaza to be then taken to a hospital in Israel.

Name of hostage rescue mission changed to ‘Operation Arnon’ in honor of slain officer

Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, who was killed in a mission to rescue hostages held in the Gaza Strip, June 8, 2024. (Israel Police)

The name of the hostage rescue mission in the central Gaza Strip today has been changed to “Operation Arnon” after Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora who was killed while battling Hamas operatives.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi spoke with the commander of the police’s Yamam counter-terrorism unit, Commander “Het” — his first initial in Hebrew — to praise the unit for their “brave and determined action” in the rescue operation, the military says.

The IDF says Halevi agreed with the Yamam commander to change the name of the operation in honor of Zmora.

During the raid this morning, Zmora was fatally wounded by Hamas fire while breaching into a building where three of the four hostages were being held. He was taken to a hospital in Israel where he died.

Zmora, 36, is survived by his wife and two children.

On October 7, he led a battle against Hamas near the border community of Yad Mordechai, killing dozens of terrorists and preventing them from infiltrating the kibbutz.

After that battle, Zmora was involved in fighting at the Nahal Oz base and in Be’eri.

Jordan blasts ‘brutal Israeli attack’ in Gaza, without mentioning rescue of hostages

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry slams the “brutal Israeli attack” on the Nuseirat refugee camp, referring to the operation that successfully rescued four hostages held in the central Gaza Strip.

The ministry’s statement says the attack “reflects the systematic targeting of Palestinian civilians, the Israeli persistence in violating international law and international humanitarian law,” without referencing the rescue of the captives.

The statement calls on the international community to “take immediate and urgent action to stop the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, and to oblige it, as the occupying power to comply with the rules of international law and international humanitarian law and to stop its senseless war on the Gaza Strip.”

Anti-government protesters gather for weekly rally in Tel Aviv

Anti-government protesters gather for their weekly rally at Democracy Square in Tel Aviv, June 8, 2024. (Iddo Schejter/Times of Israel)

Anti-government protesters are congregating at Democracy Square in Tel Aviv for their weekly demonstration, calling for early elections, the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas.

The demonstration comes following news earlier today that four hostages were freed in a rescue mission in the morning, causing war cabinet minister Benny Gantz to postpone his anticipated resignation from the government.

Police block off chunks of Begin Road and Kaplan Street, as well as nearby exits to the Ayalon Highway to prevent demonstrators from blocking traffic.

Tonight’s speakers include Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amos Malka, a former head of IDF intelligence; Reut Forstner Avraham, a resident of Israel’s bombarded north; and Ran Harnevo, an activist and one of the leaders of the “Elections Now” movement.

Earlier in the day, an anti-war protest was held in Habima Square in Tel Aviv. An anti-war march, led by the Jewish-Arab “Standing Together” movement, walks through the main demonstration on Kaplan Street a few minutes before the latter officially begins. Police confiscate a Palestinian flag from the group.

Rescued hostage Noa Argamani transferred to Ichilov Hospital to be closer to mother, who is being treated for brain cancer

Freed hostage Noa Argamani arrives at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv for treatment.

She was transferred to Ichilov from Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, where she was initially brought after her rescue by Israeli forces earlier today.

According to Ichilov, Argamani will receive care there while being able to be closer to her mother Liora, who is undergoing treatment for stage four brain cancer, at the hospital.

Egypt slams Israeli operation in Nuseirat, without mentioning rescue of hostages

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemns “Israeli attacks on the Nuseirat [refugee] camp” in central Gaza, referring to the operation to rescue four hostages earlier today.

Citing death tolls given by Hamas officials that could not be independently verified, the statement slams the operation “in which more than 150 Palestinian civilians” were killed, saying the mission violated international law.

The statement does not mention the rescue of four hostages who were abducted during the Hamas terror group’s October 7 massacre.

The statement calls on the UN Security Council “to intervene immediately to stop the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip.”

Thousands of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters march through London

Anti-Israel protesters hold placards as they gather in front of Elizabeth Tower, commonly known by the name of the clock's bell 'Big Ben' at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, central London, on June 8, 2024 at the end of National March for Gaza. (Justin Tallis/AFP)

Thousands of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrators march through central London to the British parliament, calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza-Israel war.

Protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted: “End the genocide” and “Free, free Palestine.”

The demonstration, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), also passed a pro-Israel counter-protest that featured portraits of some of the hostages seized in Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war.

The protest came as Israeli forces rescued four of the hostages alive from a Gaza refugee camp.

US President Joe Biden announced last week what he described as an Israeli proposal for a hostage-ceasefire deal. Hamas has not yet formally responded to the proposal, but officials in the terror group have reiterated their insistence that any agreement must guarantee an end to the war, a demand Israel has repeatedly ruled out.

Rocket sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona and surrounding communities

Sirens sound in a number of communities close to the northern border, warning of incoming rocket fire.

The alerts are heard in Kiryat Shmona and a number of surrounding communities.

Hezbollah-led forces have been attacking Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis since October 8, a day after its ally, Palestinian terror group Hamas, launched its October 7 massacre.

Lebanon has arrested 20 people over US embassy shooting this week, judicial source says

A Lebanese Army investigator collects forensic evidence outside the US Embassy in Awkar, a northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese authorities have arrested 20 people after a shooting near the US embassy in Beirut said to be in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, a judicial source tells AFP.

A Syrian man was arrested Wednesday after the shooting, and a judicial official said at the time that the assailant carried out the attack “in support of Gaza.”

The US embassy said on X that “small arms fire was reported in the vicinity of the entrance” and that “thanks to the quick reaction” of the Lebanese army, security forces “and our embassy security team, our facility and our team are safe.”

The judicial source says “the number of people arrested over the attack on the American embassy has risen to 20, including the Syrian assailant Qais Farraj, who is receiving care at the military hospital in Beirut.”

“Among those arrested are his father, his brother, clerics who gave him religious lessons, and those with whom he was in continuous contact,” the source adds, who supervises preliminary investigations by intelligence services.

The source adds that more people could be arrested or released based on the outcome of the investigation, which is seeking to determine whether any of the suspects had links to an Islamic State group cell or any other militant groups.

But the source says existing evidence suggested it was unlikely the attack was part of an organized operation.

Noa Argamani on her way to be reunited with her mother Liora at Tel Aviv hospital

File: Liora Argamani (R), mother of Noa Argamani who was kidnapped in the Gaza Strip attends the lobby for releasing the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip, at the Knesset, Jerusalem, January 9, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Noa Argamani, rescued from Gaza in a military operation earlier today, is on her way to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital to be reunited with her mother, Liora, Channel 12 news reports.

Liora Argamani, 61, has stage four brain cancer and has said that her last wish is to see her daughter again.

Noa Argamani is embraced by her father, Yaakov, at Sheba Medical Center after being rescued from Hamas captivity, June 8, 2024. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

PA’s Abbas calls for emergency UNSC meeting after rescue of hostages, citing ‘bloody massacre’

CAIRO, Egypt — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an emergency UN Security Council session on “the bloody massacre that was carried out by the Israeli forces,” referring to the successful rescue operation of four hostages at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, official news agency WAFA reports.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Families of rescued hostages thank security forces, express condolences for fallen officer

Yaakov Argamani, the father of Noa, rescued from Gaza in a military operation, gives a statement at Sheba Hospital on June 8, 2024 (Screen grab/Channel 12)

The families of freed hostages Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv thank the security forces who freed their loved ones in an operation in the Gaza Strip earlier today and express their condolences over the loss of a counter-terrorism officer in the mission.

Yaakov Argamani, Noa’s father, thanks the IDF, and stresses, “We must do everything, and as soon as possible to bring them home,” referring to the other hostages.

“Today is my birthday, and what a present I received,” he adds.

Jenifer Master, Kozlov’s partner, also thanks the army and sends condolences to the family of the Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, and expresses hope the rest of the hostages would return home safely.

“There’s a lot of happiness today, a lot of tears,” says Anna, Kozlov’s aunt, also sending condolences to Zmora’s family.

Orit, Jan’s mother, said: “Almog asked to say: We have a strong nation, thanks very much. I support the soldiers, I hope all the hostages come home safely.”

Colombia announces will suspend coal sales to Israel

Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivers a speech during a military ceremony at the Military School of Cadets General Jose Maria Cordova in Bogota on May 31, 2024. (Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP)

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announces that his government will suspend coal exports to Israel while it continues its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We are going to suspend coal exports to Israel until the genocide stops,” the socialist leader writes on X.

In May, Petro announced Colombia would sever ties with Israel over the conflict.

Petro has strongly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bogota has requested to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

Colombia, the world’s fifth largest coal producer, sent 56.7 million metric tons of coal abroad last year, including 3 million tons to Israel, about 5.4% of total exports, according to government data.

Israel is a key destination for Colombian coal and shipments there generate about $165 million a year in taxes, royalties and other contributions.

Hostage families: ‘We see the happiness today. The people are with us and ready to pay the price for a deal’

File - Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker who is being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, sits on the street near the Begin Gate at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, June 1, 2024. (Paulina Patimer / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Representatives of some of the hostages held in Gaza call for the government to do whatever it takes to make a hostage deal, saying that an agreement is the only way for all the captives to come home.

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, says that the country is “all one family.”

“We are calling for a deal. We all deserve to hug our loved ones. I want to hug Matan. We cannot miss this chance,” she says.

“There are still 120 hostages in the hell of Gaza. The only way to get them all back is via a deal. The people are with us and are ready to pay the price of the war ending to bring them home,” she says.

“We see the happiness when the four came home. It made us one people who want a deal now,” she says.

Merav Svirsky, the sister of Itay Svirsky, who was killed while held by terrorists in Gaza and was held for a prolonged period along with Noa Argamani, rescued by Israeli troops today, echoes Zanguaker’s plea.

“There are families who cannot share in the happiness today. There is a chance for a deal, the only way to bring them all home is with a deal and an end to the war,” she says.

Footage shows family and friends reuniting with rescued hostages at hospital

The Israel Defense Forces releases footage of hostages reunited with their families at Ramat Gan’s Sheba Medical Center.

“I want to thank our good quality, humane, and most moral army in the world. There’s no army like this in the world,” says Yaakov Argamani, the father of rescued hostage Noa Argamani, with his arms around his daughter and standing next to a masked soldier, likely one involved in the rescue operation.

A video also shows rescued hostage Andrey Kozlov being aided in walking, then sitting, saying that he was aware of weekly Saturday evening demonstrations calling for hostages’ release.

He is later seen embracing fellow rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan.

Jan embraces family and friends, with one of them looking at him and jokingly asking, “How many pitas [did he eat in Gaza]?”

Shlomi Ziv is heard saying he wants a shower, and talking with a doctor.

US national security adviser praises hostage rescue op, says US supporting ‘all efforts’ to release captives

Shlomi Ziv is pictured with his sister Revital Nasi (right) and cousin after he was rescued from Gaza in a military operation, June 8, 2024. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan hails the “daring” IDF operation to rescue four Israeli hostages earlier today.

“The United States is supporting all efforts to secure the release of hostages still held by Hamas, including American citizens,” Sullivan says in a statement.

The top aide to US President Joe Biden adds that Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv “were taken from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, and Hamas filmed the horrific abduction of Ms. Argamani for the world to see. Now they are safe and reunited with their families.”

Given that the US has repeatedly expressed concern over civilian casualties in Gaza, Sullivan’s statement notably makes no mention of the dozens of Palestinians reportedly killed in the Israeli rescue operation.

Still, he stresses Washington’s continued support for the ongoing effort to secure a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

“The hostage release and ceasefire deal that is now on the table would secure the release of all the remaining hostages together with security assurances for Israel and relief for the innocent civilians in Gaza.”

“This deal has the full backing of the United States and has been endorsed by countries from around the world, including the G7, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, UAE, and Qatar, as well as the sixteen countries with their citizens still being held by Hamas. They all must be released — now,” Sullivan says.

‘It’s the IDF, we’ve come to rescue you’: Noa Argamani’s relative tells of moment soldiers reached her in Gaza

Noa Argamani is embraced by her father, Yaakov, at Sheba Medical Center after being rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza, June 8, 2024. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

A relative of Noa Argamani tells reporters that the military banged on the door of where she was being held hostage in Gaza and yelled that they had come to rescue her.

“She told me a little. It was 10 a.m. and they banged on the door and shouted ‘It’s the IDF and we’ve come to rescue you,'” says Asaf Shaibi.

“She is strong. She has met with her family and the prime minister,” he says.

Officers of police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit, along with Shin Bet agents, simultaneously raided two Hamas buildings in the heart of central Gaza’s Nuseirat this morning. Argamani was rescued at one site, while Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv were at a second location.

Hamas chief Haniyeh says ‘resistance will continue’ after hostage rescue operation

Ismail Haniyeh, the Doha-based political bureau chief of Hamas, speaks to the press after a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in Tehran on March 26, 2024. (AFP)

Hamas terror group leader Ismail Haniyeh says that the “resistance will continue” after deadly fighting in a central Gaza refugee camp where Israel mounted a successful hostage rescue operation.

“Our people will not surrender, and the resistance will continue to defend our rights in the face of this criminal enemy,” Haniyeh says in a statement.

The terror group said earlier it still held a large number of hostages and could increase it.

Reuters and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

After visiting hostages, PM hails ‘heroic operation that will be registered in the annals of Israel’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan after visiting four rescued hostages and their families there, June 8, 2024. (JACK GUEZ / POOL / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he approved the operation to release four hostages in Gaza “without hesitation” because he had faith in the heroic Israeli warriors who would carry it out.

The prime minister, delivering a brief statement at Shema Medical Center after visiting the freed hostages and their families, says that during his meeting with Andrey Kozlov, the freed hostage said he wrote in a notebook every day that he would be reborn, “and that is really what happened.”

“And I want to repeat and make clear that we will return everyone,” Netanyahu says, adding that Israel is working on more operations to return more captives.

“This is a day of unprecedented emotion for all citizens of Israel and many around the world, and for me personally” he says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with rescued hostage Andrey Kozlov at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024 (Maayan Toaf / GPO)

Saying he just met with all four hostages and their families, he notes that “We celebrated the birthday of Yaacov [Argamani] next to his [newly rescued] daughter [Noa]. And he said, ‘I got the greatest present I could possibly have expected.'”

Adds Netanyahu: “I want to repeat and make clear: We will bring them all back. We’re working right now on returning more hostages, on more possibilities. We will return them all.

“This operation was brought for my approval on Thursday evening,” he says. “I knew it was very complex and very dangerous. There’s a hair’s breadth between success and failure. I knew that, but I unhesitatingly approved it nonetheless.” He did so, the prime minister says, “because I have faith in the IDF, the Shin Bet and Israel police” — all of whom were involved in the rescue.

He calls the rescue “a heroic operation that will be registered in the annals of the people of Israel.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with rescued hostage Noa Argamani, her father Yaakov and family at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024 (GPO)

He acknowledges the tragic cost, citing the death of Yamam officer Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, the commander of the rescue team at one of the two buildings where the hostages were held. “One of the best of our sons has fallen… I know what pain his family is going through.”

Says Netanyahu: “He and his colleagues proved that the State of Israel has the strength and power and the will to fight those who seek to kill us, and that the IDF can get anywhere.”

He concludes: “Will return all our hostages one way or another.”

IDF says Hezbollah operative killed, terror targets hit in Lebanon airstrikes

A Hezbollah operative spotted in southern Lebanon’s Aitaroun was killed in an airstrike, the military says.

Fighter jets also struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Khiam, and tanks shelled a building used by the terror group in Kafr Kila, the IDF adds.

חטיבת האש של אוגדה 91 זיהו פעיל של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב עיתרון שבדרום לבנון, זמן קצר לאחר מכן כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף את הפעיל.

לפני זמן קצר, מטוסי קרב תקפו תשתית להכוונת טרור של הארגון במרחב אל-חיאם>> pic.twitter.com/tRwfNvyuiO

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 8, 2024

Biden welcomes return of 4 hostages, vows to continue working to release them all

US President Joe Biden flanked by France's president addresses the media during press statements following a bilateral meeting, at the Presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on June 8, 2024. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

US President Joe Biden welcomes the IDF operation to rescue four hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza earlier today.

“We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a ceasefire is reached. That is essential to happen,” Biden says in a press conference from Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

France and the United States will double their efforts to avoid the Middle East exploding, notably in Lebanon where there is urgency to reduce tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, Macron says.

Macron says that Paris and Washington also saw an escalation strategy by Iran in the region and that the two countries were determined to exert the necessary pressure to stop this trend.

PMO shares video of Netanyahu visiting rescued hostages at hospital

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with rescued hostage Noa Argamani, her father Yaakov and family at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024 (GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits rescued hostages at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, as seen in a video released by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Netanyahu is seen first embracing a visibly overwhelmed Andrey Kozlov, who thanks the prime minister in Russian.

The prime minister is then seen holding Noa Argamani’s hand as her father Yaakov thanks Netanyahu for his efforts.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank our good quality, humane army,” Yaakov Argamni says.

Later on in the video, Netanyahu joins relatives in singing “Happy Birthday” to Noa’s father.

Netanyahu also sits with Shlomo Ziv and his wife Miran, vowing to bring all the hostages home, and embraces Almog Meir.

ראש הממשלה במפגש מרגש עם חטופינו שחזרו ארצה ומשפחותיהם בבית החולים שיבא pic.twitter.com/cvO0V9iAgM

— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) June 8, 2024

Sheba Hospital says 4 rescued hostages are in ‘stable’ condition

Dr. Itai Pessach of Sheba Medical Center says four hostages who were rescued by security forces in the Gaza Strip are in “stable” condition.

He tells the press that the four were all verbal, excited, and were asking to see their friends and family.

In IDF op ‘Seeds of Summer,’ 4 hostages rescued simultaneously from buildings 200 meters apart

The name of the joint IDF, Shin Bet and police operation to rescue the four hostages from the Gaza Strip is “Seeds of Summer.”

At 11:00 a.m. the order was given to the Yamam and Shin Bet officers to raid two multi-story buildings in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, where Hamas was holding hostages Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv.

The buildings were about 200 meters apart, and the decision to go for both simultaneously, and not just one of the sites, was due to the possibility that Hamas may murder the hostages after identifying the rescue operation.

Argamani was held by Hamas guards alone in the home of a Palestinian family, while the other three hostages were held at a separate home. According to the IDF, Hamas pays such families to hold the hostages in their homes.

At the home where Meir Jan, Kozlov and Ziv were held, a major gun battle erupted, during which Yamam officer Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, the commander of the rescue team at the second building, was critically wounded by Hamas fire.

As the three hostages and Zmora were being extracted, their vehicle came under fire, leading it to get stuck. Other forces quickly reached the scene to rescue them, bringing them to a makeshift helipad in Gaza.

There was a large amount of gunfire and RPG fire on the rescue forces amid the operation, leading the ground troops and the Air Force to carry out major strikes in the area to protect themselves and the rescued hostages. The IDF acknowledges that it killed many Palestinian civilians amid the fighting, although it places the blame on Hamas for holding hostages in a civilian environment.

Hamas operatives also fired anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli helicopters over the area amid the operation, without success.

Footage shows three hostages being taken to a chopper inside the enclave.

Yaakov Argamani praises daughter’s rescuers, says rest of hostages must be freed too

Yaakov Argamani thanks all those involved in the rescue of his daughter Noa from captivity in the Gaza Strip today.

“I want to thank the high-quality, humane and most moral army in the world,” Yaakov says of the IDF. “There is no army like this on earth.”

“But let’s not forget, there are still 120 hostages, and we have to free them,” he says in a video statement.

“We have to make every effort, in any way we can, to bring them to Israel and their families.

He adds that his daughter looks “excellent.”

יעקב ארגמני, אביה של נועה: ״נועה ברוך ה׳״ בסדר! אל לנו לשכוח שיש עוד 120 חטופים. תגיעו הערב לכיכר החטופים״. pic.twitter.com/yjdbRilbo7

— almog boker (@bokeralmog) June 8, 2024

Gallant: Hostage rescue op ‘one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations’ I’ve seen in 47 years

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant gives a statement on the rescue of four hostages from the Gaza Strip, June 8, 2024. (screenshot)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the operation to rescue four hostages from the Gaza Strip was “one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations I have witnessed over the course of 47 years serving in Israel’s defense establishment.”

“IDF, Shin Bet, and Yamam, as well as the forces who supported [those in the field] have conducted an unprecedented operation – daring in nature, planned brilliantly, and executed in an extraordinary fashion. The various security agencies cooperated closely — the IDF, Shin Bet, and Yamam — acting as one single unit,” he says in a statement, thanking all those involved.

“I would especially like to express my appreciation to the IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who is leading the the military. I would like to express my appreciation to the head of the Shin Bet and to the commander of Yamam for their leadership in these complex conditions,” he says, adding that the country has people they can count on and reasons to be proud.

He praises the military chief for acting for the benefit of the country, even though some politicians have criticized him over the handling of the war.

“This morning not only did we have a successful operation, but also an opportunity to fulfill the goals of this war,” he states.

Germany’s Scholz says rescue of 4 hostages ‘important sign of hope’

File: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a press conference in Jerusalem, March 17, 2024. (GPO)

BERLIN, Germany — Israel’s rescue of four hostages alive in the Gaza Strip is an “important sign of hope,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says.

“An important sign of hope — in particular for the numerous Israeli families who continue to fear for those close to them. Four hostages are now free,” Scholz says on X, formerly Twitter, calling on Hamas to release all remaining hostages and the war to end.

‘Suspicious aerial target’ downed by IDF off northern coast

A “suspicious aerial target” identified off the coast of Nahariya in northern Israel was successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

No sirens sounded “according to protocol,” and there are no reports of damage or injuries, the IDF adds.

Police say Officer Arnon Zmora dies of wounds from hostage rescue op

Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, who was killed in a mission to rescue hostages held in the Gaza Strip, June 8, 2024. (Israel Police)

An officer of the elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit wounded in the hostage rescue operation in the central Gaza Strip has succumbed to his wounds, police say.

He is named as Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora.

Zmora was brought to a hospital in Israel in critical condition, where his death was declared a short while later.

PM: Our forces prove again ‘Israel does not surrender to terrorism’

From left to right: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet security services Director Ronen Bar at the special operations room overseeing a mission to release hostages in the Gaza Strip, June 8, 2024. (Shin Bet security service)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu salutes security forces for their daring mission to rescue four hostages in the central Gaza Strip today.

“Once again you have proven that Israel does not surrender to terrorism and acts with creativity and boldness that knows no bounds, to bring home our hostages,” the prime minister says in a statement.

“We are committed to doing so in the future as well. We will not let up until we complete the mission and return all our hostages home – both the living and the dead,” he adds.

Rescued hostage Shlomo Ziv breaks into tears with wife during 1st video call

Rescued hostage Shlomo Ziv breaks into tears during his first video call with his wife after being freed from captivity in the Gaza Strip.

“My heart, you hero,” his wife Miran says, crying together with her husband.

Ziv, who was captured while serving as a security guard for the Supernova music festival asks his wife where is his friend Aviv Eliyahu, who was the security manager of the event and murdered on October 7.

“We will speak about Aviv,” Miran says. “Should I bring you something?” she asks.

“Just come,” he says.

שיחת הווידאו המרגשת בין שלומי זיו לאשתו והחבר שהיה איתו במסיבה ברעים @OferHalfonKan @lirankog pic.twitter.com/3MtDpIcsDK

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 8, 2024

Shin Bet releases images of IDF chief, Shin Bet head overseeing hostage rescue op

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi (left) and Shin Bet security services Director Ronen Bar at the special operations room overseeing a mission to release hostages in the Gaza Strip, June 8, 2024. (Shin Bet security services)

The Shin Bet publishes images from the security agency’s special operations war room amid the rescue of hostages Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv from the Gaza Strip earlier today.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar together commanded the operation, in which officers of the police’s Yamam unit and Shin Bet agents rescued the four hostages.

Friends of Almog Jan jump with joy after seeing rescued hostage over video call

Almog Jan, who was rescued in a daring operation by security forces today, reunites with several of his friends over a video call.

“Almog!” his friends yell together as they see him for the first time over the phone, jumping with glee and cheering.

Friends pass around the phone, greeting Jan one by one after 246 days of captivity.

רגעי האושר בשיחת הוידאו הראשונה שקיים אלמוג מאיר ג'אן עם חבריו אחרי השחרור@yollancohen pic.twitter.com/evq4oQGcFc

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) June 8, 2024

PM, Gallant OK’d hostage rescue op when cabinet meetings were canceled

File: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Oct. 28, 2023. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the operation to rescue four hostages from central Gaza’s Nuseirat on Thursday evening when a war cabinet and security cabinet meeting was canceled, a diplomatic source says.

The meetings were canceled in order for the two to make preparations for the operation.

Netanyahu was also said to have observed the mission from inside a Shin Bet security service war room.

Image shows rescued hostage Noa Argamani reunited with relatives at hospital

An image released shows rescued hostage Noa Argamani reunited with family members at Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Center.

Argamani was abducted from the Supernova music festival and held hostage for 246 days.

משפחת ארגמני מתאחדת@DaphnaLiel pic.twitter.com/vH7tTOqpGG

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) June 8, 2024

Senior Hamas official: Rescue of 4 hostages after 9 months a ‘sign of failure’

Senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, tells Reuters that “regaining four captives after nine months of fighting is a sign of failure not an achievement,” in response to the military operation rescuing hostages in the Gaza Strip.

It is the third time security forces have managed to rescue hostages alive in the Gaza Strip.

On the beach in Tel Aviv, and the street in Athens, Israelis celebrate the rescue of 4 hostages

Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan raises his hands in celebration as he is escorted from an IDF helicopter on arrival at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Israelis in Tel Aviv and Athens cheer and celebrate the rescue of four hostages in a special operation in the central Gaza Strip.

A lifeguard at the beach in Tel Aviv makes an announcement on the loudspeaker, and those present erupt in applause and cheers.

מניאק מי לא בוכה pic.twitter.com/FHs4NBI6tX

— avi atias (@avi_atias) June 8, 2024

In Athens, dozens of Israelis are seen in footage on the streets celebrating the news, and chanting, “Am Israel Chai.”

עשרות ישראלים חוגגים את שחרור החטופים באתונה pic.twitter.com/WcGtWi2cEV

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) June 8, 2024

Hostage and Missing Families Forum praises ‘heroic operation’ to free 4 hostages

Rescued hostage Andrey Kozlov, freed by the IDF from Hamas captivity in Gaza, is escorted from an IDF helicopter on arrival at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum commends the IDF on their “heroic operation” to rescue four hostages from the Gaza Strip.

“Now, with the enormous joy all over Israel, the Israeli government must remember its commitment to bring back all 120 hostages still held by Hamas — the living for rehabilitation, the murdered for burial,” the forum writes in a post on X.

“We continue to call upon the international community to apply the necessary pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed deal and release the other 120 hostages held in captivity; every day there is a day too far,” it adds.

The heroic operation by the IDF that freed and brought home Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov, and Almog Meir Jan is a heroic triumph.

Now, with the enormous joy all over Israel, the Israeli government must remember its commitment to bring back all 120 hostages still held… pic.twitter.com/bjzaDOy8se

— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) June 8, 2024

Gantz says his ‘heart is full’ over rescue of 4 hostages from Gaza Strip

National Unity party head and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz holds a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 21, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz says his “heart is full” over the rescue of four hostages from the Gaza Strip.

“I would like to praise the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, Yamam, the Shin Bet on the complicated and brave operation that was planned and carried out in an inspiring manner,” he says in a statement.

“Even today, my heart goes out to all the families of the hostages. We are committed to doing everything to return them homes,” he says.

Hamas officials say at least 50 Palestinians killed in IDF hostage rescue op

At least 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Nuseirat and other areas in central Gaza amid the rescue of the four Israeli hostages, a health official in the Hamas-run enclave tells Reuters.

The IDF carried out the daring rescue operations under intensive fire.

There is no immediate word on how many of the Palestinians reported killed were terror operatives.

IDF spokesman says 4 hostages rescued in ‘daring’ mission with forces ‘under fire’

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the operation to rescue four hostages from Hamas captivity in central Gaza’s Nuseirat earlier today was “daring.”

He says hostages Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv were rescued by special forces while “under fire.”

“During the operation, we struck… threats to our forces in the area. These threats were struck from the land, air, and sea… in order for us to rescue the hostages,” he says.

Hagari also speaks briefly in English:

Counter-terror officer seriously hurt in hostage rescue op in Gaza

An officer of the elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit was seriously wounded amid the hostage rescue operation in central Gaza’s Nuseirat earlier today, police announce.

The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Herzog, PM call rescued hostage Noa Argamani to welcome her home

President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu each call rescued hostage Noa Argamani to welcome her home.

In the one-minute call, Herzog expresses his excitement at Argamani’s return, as the rescued hostage boasts a huge smile and thanks the president.

“I embrace you in the name of the entire nation of Israel,” Herzog says.

“I’m so happy to be here,” Argmani replies. “Thank you for everything. Thank you for this moment.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks Argamani how she is feeling in their call.

“Very excited,” she says, expressing her excitement of conversing in Hebrew after so long.

“Hebrew, and at home, which is also important,” the prime minister responds. “We didn’t give up on you for a moment. I don’t know if you believed it, but we believed it, and I am glad it happened.”

“Get better with your family, and hug your mother as well,” Netanyahu says.

נועה ארגמני בשיחה עם נשיא המדינה הרצוג: ״תודה, אני כל כך שמחה להיות פה״ pic.twitter.com/GKoUpDoP2o

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) June 8, 2024

The stories of the four rescued hostages

Here is a look at the four hostages rescued this morning in a special military operation in central Gaza.

Noa Argamani, 25, was seen in a famous video screaming in fear as she was abducted to Gaza from the Supernova party on a motorbike. Her mother, who is terminally ill, had repeatedy begged to see her before she died.

Almog Meir Jan, 21, was releasaed from army service three months before his capture. He too was taken from the party.

Andrey Kozlov, 27, was working as a security guard at the rave when he was captured. He is a new immigrant to Israel, having moved here about a year and a half ago.

Shlomi Ziv, 40, was also working as part of the security detail at the desert party. Ziv had gone to the party with two others, Aviv Eliyahu, his wife’s relative, and Jake Marlowe, a friend. Both were killed.

Gallant: We are ‘overjoyed’ to have hostages home

Rescued hostages Andrey Kozlov (in red shorts) and Almog Meir (in black sleeveless shirt) seen on their return to Israel, June 8, 2024 (Channel 12 screenshot; used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright law)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the country is “overjoyed” at the rescue of four hostages from the Gaza Strip.

“IDF, ISA and Special Forces conducted a complex, heroic operation to rescue four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and brought them home to Israel. We will keep fighting until 120 hostages are home,” Gallant writes on X.

Noa, Almog, Andrey and Shlomi – we are overjoyed to have you home.

IDF, ISA and Special Forces conducted a complex, heroic operation to rescue four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and brought them home to Israel.

We will keep fighting until 120 hostages are home. ????????

— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) June 8, 2024

‘A great light in the terrible darkness’: Lapid thanks security forces for hostage rescue op

Opposition leader Yair Lapid conveys his excitement over security forces’ operation to rescue four hostages from the central Gaza Strip.

“Noa, Shlomi, Almog and Andrey. We waited for you, and we are still waiting for everyone. Everyone,” Lapid posts on X.

“Much appreciation for the security forces for a bold and brave operation, in the most important mission of bringing the hostages home. A great light in the terrible darkness,” Lapid adds.

התרגשות גדולה עם קבלת הבשורות המשמחות.

נועה, שלומי, אלמוג ואנדריי. חיכינו לכם, ועדיין אנחנו מחכים לכולם. כולם.

הרבה הערכה לכוחות הבטחון על מבצע נועז ואמיץ במשימה העליונה להחזיר את החטופים הביתה. אור גדול בתוך החושך הנורא. pic.twitter.com/5ysNKolxcr

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 8, 2024

Israel can’t force its will on Hamas, Hamas chief Haniyeh says in response to rescue op

DUBAI — Israel cannot force its choices on Hamas and the terror group will accept no deal that does not achieve security for Palestinians, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh says, in response to a military operation in Gaza’s Nuseirat, where four hostages were rescued by troops.

Qatar and Egypt have in recent days turned up the pressure on Hamas’s leadership in Doha to sign on to a deal presented by the White House to secure a truce in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held there, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The Israeli proposal for a deal envisions a six-week truce in its first phase during which the remaining living female, elderly, and sick hostages will be released. Also during this first phase, the parties are to hold talks on a permanent ceasefire.

One clause specifies that the phase one ceasefire can extend beyond the initially allotted six weeks if the negotiations for a permanent ceasefire are still taking place in good faith. The clause was kept vague in a manner that mediators hoped would satisfy both sides enough to at least get them to agree to phase one of the deal.

Rescued hostage Noa Argamani reunites with father on way to hospital

Rescued hostage Noa Argamani is seen reunited with her father, June 8, 2024 (Courtesy)

Rescued hostage Noa Argamani is seen reuniting with her father en route to Tel Hashomer Hospital in a clip posted to social media.

Argamani was rescued with three other hostages from central Gaza’s Nuseirat earlier today, in a daring joint operation carried out by the IDF, Shin Bet, and police.

תיעוד: נועה ארגמני עם אביה בישראל pic.twitter.com/SGCZitKyHJ

— Suleiman Maswadeh סולימאן מסוודה (@SuleimanMas1) June 8, 2024

Gantz cancels evening address after rescue of four living hostages

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz at a Jerusalem Day ceremony in Jerusalem, on June 5, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz cancels his evening address when he was expected to withdraw his National Unity party from the coalition.

The announcement comes after the successful military operation to rescue four living hostages from the Gaza Strip.

IDF rescues 4 hostages alive in stunning operation in central Gaza

Hostages rescued in an IDF operation in the Gaza Strip on June 8: Shlomi Ziv (top left), Andrey Kozlov (top right), Almog Meir (bottom left), and Noa Argamani. (Courtesy)

Four Israeli hostages were rescued alive by troops from Hamas captivity in a daring operation in the central Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.

The rescued hostages are named as Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. All four had been abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7 from the Supernova music festival near the southern community of Re’im.

Special forces had simultaneously raided two Hamas sites in central Gaza’s Nuseirat. At one location, Argamani was rescued, while Meir Jan, Kozlov, and Ziv were at the second location.

The rescued hostages are all in good condition, according to initial medical assessments. They were taken to Tel Hashomer Hospital for further evaluation.

Amid the operation, heavy airstrikes were carried out in the area against Hamas sites and in support of the ground troops. Hamas health authorities reported a “large number” of casualties.

IDF: Rocket sirens in Kissufim were false alarms

Rocket sirens that sounded in the border community of Kissufim a short while ago were false alarms, the military says.

Hamas-run health ministry says ‘large numbers’ of dead, injured arrive at Gazan hospital amid intense IDF strikes

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip reports that “large numbers” of dead and injured are arriving at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah amid the IDF’s intensive operation in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.

The IDF said earlier in an unusual statement that it was striking targets in Nuseirat. The military is due to release more information later today.

Incoming rocket sirens sound in Kibbutz Kissufim near Gaza border

Incoming rocket alerts are sounding in the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Kissufim.

The sirens sound as the military conducts intensive strikes in the Gaza Strip.

Red Alert [12:59:20] – 1 Alert:

• Gaza Envelope — Kissufim#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/nhK7dEvPAZ

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) June 8, 2024

Two pro-Iran militants killed in car bombing in Syria

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A car bombing killed two pro-Iran fighters in the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, a war monitor says.

An explosive device went off in an SUV near the Iranian cultural center, killing two Iran-backed fighters, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been criticized for inflating regime losses in the past.

Government forces and Iran-backed groups imposed a security cordon around the site of the attack, says the Observatory, a Britain-based organization with a network of sources on the ground in the war-torn country.

It is unclear who was behind the attack in Deir Ezzor city, a stronghold of Tehran that is home to Iranian advisers, institutions, and the cultural center.

A car belonging to the Iranian militias exploded near Al-Fath Mosque in the center of Deir Ezzor.‌‌

There are deaths and injuries pic.twitter.com/ACiodikh3S

— Vlogging NW Syria (@timtams83) June 8, 2024

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

‘I think this is wrong’: Pelosi comes out against Netanyahu’s Congress invite

Former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi tells CNN she thought it was wrong that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an invitation to speak at Congress next month.

Pelosi adds that she thought it was “inappropriate” for him to speak to Congress the last time he was invited in 2015, when Republican Congressional leaders went behind the back of then-US president Barack Obama for the Israeli premier to lobby against the nuclear deal that Washington wound up signing with Iran later that year.

“I think this is wrong,” Pelosi says, and says she would have “absolutely not” backed the invite had she been in her former position.

“I feel it’s very sad that he has been invited, but who knows by then. Will he still be prime minister? What is Benny Gantz going to be saying tomorrow?” she says, referencing the war cabinet minister’s press conference tonight when he is expected to withdraw from the coalition.

“What’s happening? Everything I read is that they’re unhappy about this or unhappy about that. Not just Benny, but other members of his cabinet,” she says, referencing squabbles within Netanyahu’s coalition.

“I wish that he would be a statesman and do what is right for Israel. We all love Israel. We all fought for Israel. October 7 was terrible. Hamas is a terrorist organization. They’re dedicated to the destruction of Israel. The hostages are not free. The people of Gaza are suffering. We need to help them not have him stand in the way of that for such a long time, him being Benjamin Netanyahu,” she states, adding that the speech will likely cause more harm than good, and calling for a two-state solution.

Bash: If you were Speaker, would you have invited Netanyahu?

Pelosi: No, absolutely not. I think this is wrong.. I feel it's very sad that he has been invited, but who knows by then.. will he still be prime minister? pic.twitter.com/4R0ZgMZhto

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 7, 2024

IDF says strikes targeting ‘terror infrastructure’ in Gaza’s Nuseirat, in unusual announcement

The IDF in an unusual statement says it has been striking “terror infrastructure” in central Gaza’s Nuseirat in the past hour.

No further details are given.

Nuseirat is one of the few areas of Gaza that ground troops have not yet operated in amid the ongoing war against Hamas.

The IDF’s announcement comes after Palestinian media reported a series of large airstrikes in Nuseirat.

محيم النصيرات يتعرض لقصف إسرائيلي جنوني في عملية إسرائيلية مباغتة قبل قليل

مجازر في المكان pic.twitter.com/KYO0FJYKhY

— Hanzala (@Hanzpal2) June 8, 2024

COGAT announces establishment of 11th field hospital in Gaza Strip

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announces the establishment of an 11th field hospital in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the RAHMA international aid organization.

“The field hospital compound has recently begun operating in the Al-Mawasi area within the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis,” COGAT says in a post on X. “This hospital, the seventh to be established in Al-Mawasi, will be operated by the Red Crescent Organization and is expected to include 40 beds, 3 operating rooms, and an intensive care unit.”

We announced today (Saturday) the establishment of the 11th field hospital in Gaza, as part of the effort to provide humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip. This is in cooperation with the international community, facilitated by the RAHMA Organization, and… pic.twitter.com/1ZRJwgdCQm

— COGAT (@cogatonline) June 8, 2024

Several rockets fired at northern community; troops shelling launch sites

Several rockets were launched from Lebanon at Zarit, setting off sirens in the northern border community a short while ago.

The IDF says that two of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, while several more struck open areas, causing no injuries.

It adds that troops are shelling the launch sites with artillery.

Multiple rocket sirens sound in Upper Galilee community

Incoming rocket alerts are sounding in the northern community of Zarit in the Upper Galilee.

Sirens in the community have sounded multiple times this morning.

Red Alert [10:49:23] – 2 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Zarit#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/ANc6JHUnGH

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) June 8, 2024

IDF says troops demolish Hamas compound in Rafah, strike in central Gaza

Israeli troops operate in Gaza, in a handout photo published June 8, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

During operations in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF says troops raided and demolished a Hamas training compound in west Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood.

Also in the Tel Sultan area, the IDF says troops killed several terror operatives, located tunnels and seized weapons.

Tel Sultan is one of four Hamas battalions in the terror group’s Rafah Brigade. So far, as IDF operations have focused along the Egypt-Gaza border, the Yabna Battalion, located in the south of the city, has sustained the most damage.

Meanwhile, the IDF says its operation in east Deir al-Balah and east Bureij in the central Gaza Strip continues, with strikes being carried out against dozens of sites used by terror groups and cells of gunmen.

One strike against a group of terror operatives adjacent to a tunnel shaft resulted in several rockets being fired. The IDF says the rockets impacted near the tunnel and there were no injuries among Israeli forces.

Troops also continue to operate in the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip. The IDF says a strike was carried out in the area recently against a mortar-launching cell.

IDF says its boosting forces to secure US Gaza aid pier

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from the United Arab Emirates and the United States Agency for International Development cross the Trident Pier before entering the beach in Gaza, May 17, 2024. (Staff Sgt. Malcolm Cohens-Ashley/US Army Central via AP)

The IDF says it is bolstering forces to secure the US-built floating pier on the coast of the central Gaza Strip, known as JLOTS, which is due to resume operations in the coming days.

The pier is used to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, though it has seen several setbacks, including falling apart last month.

Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq claim they launched drones at Israel

Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Israel this morning.

It is unclear whether the drone that hit an open area in northern Israel earlier indeed originated in Iraq.

Army says ‘suspicious aerial target’ impacted open area in north

Suspected drone infiltration alarms that sounded this morning in the northern Golan Heights were triggered by a “suspicious aerial target” that impacted an open area, the military says.

The IDF says there are no injuries, and the incident is under further investigation.

Meanwhile, rocket sirens that sounded in Safed were false alarms, the IDF adds.

Former astronaut William Anders, who took iconic Earthrise photo, killed in plane crash

This Dec. 24, 1968, file photo made available by NASA shows the Earth behind the surface of the moon during the Apollo 8 mission (William Anders/NASA via AP, File)

William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic “Earthrise” photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90.

Anders, a retired major general, has said the photo was his most significant contribution to the space program along with making sure the Apollo 8 command module and service module worked.

The photograph, the first color image of Earth from space, is one of the most important photos in modern history for the way it changed how humans viewed the planet. The photo is credited with sparking the global environmental movement for showing how delicate and isolated Earth appeared from space.

Judge orders temporary halt to U of California academic workers’ strike against Israel

SANTA ANA, California — Thousands of academic workers on strike at the University of California are ordered by a state judge to temporarily cease their weekslong strike against Israel over the war in Gaza.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Randall J. Sherman issued the emergency restraining order after UC lawyers argued that the ongoing strike would cause irreversible harm as students are nearing finals.

The university system sued United Auto Workers Local 4811 on Tuesday even though both sides have competing unfair practice labor claims pending before the California Public Employment Relations Board, which declined twice to issue an emergency injunction.

The union, which represents 48,000 graduate students who work as teaching assistants, tutors, researchers and other academic employees on the 10-campus UC system, started its strike May 20 in Santa Cruz. The strike has since expanded to UC campuses in Davis, Los Angeles, Irvine, Santa Barbara and San Diego.

Melissa Matella, associate vice president for labor relations, expresses gratitude for the order, saying in a statement that the ongoing strike would have set back students’ learning and possibly stalled critical research projects. Officials say the strike is not related to employment terms and violates the union’s contract.

But the union says it is protesting the treatment of its members, some of whom were arrested and forcibly ejected by police in demonstrations against Israel over its offensive in Gaza against Hamas.

Rebecca Gross, a UC Santa Cruz graduate student and union leader, says they are surveying rank-and-file workers on how to proceed.

“The struggle is not over,” she says. “It really hasn’t been confirmed yet … that what we’re doing here is illegal in any way.”

Sirens sound in Safed, northern Golan Heights due to suspected rocket and drone attacks

Incoming rocket sirens are activated in the Upper Galilee city of Safed and nearby town of Birya.

Additionally, sirens sound in Majdal Shams and other towns in the northern Golan Heights due to a suspected hostile aircraft in Israeli skies.

Security measures boosted at White House ahead of protest against Israel for responding to Oct. 7

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators vandalize the fence in front of the White House with red hand prints during a protest against Israel, in Washington, on November 4, 2023. T (Stefani Reynolds/AFP)

WASHINGTON — Activists demanding an end to the war in Gaza and to American support for Israel plan to surround the White House during a weekend protest, prompting additional security measures, including anti-scale fencing.

Advocacy and activist groups like CODEPINK and the Council on American Islamic Relations say that demonstrations are planned on Saturday, marking eight months since Israel began its military offensive in Gaza against Hamas following the terror group’s October 7 onslaught.

The United States, Israel’s key ally, has seen months of pro-Palestinian protests against Israel ranging from marches in Washington and vigils near the White House to the blocking of bridges and roads near train stations and airports in multiple cities and encampments on many college campuses.

At least eight officials have quit the administration of US President Joe Biden citing their opposition to his policy. Protesters have also disrupted some of Biden’s reelection campaign events. Biden is currently in France for an official visit.

“In preparation for the events this weekend in Washington, DC, that have the potential for large crowds to gather, additional public safety measures have been put in place near the White House complex,” a US Secret Service spokesperson says.

Rocket sirens sound in several Western Galilee towns

Incoming rocket alert sirens are activated in several small towns in the Western Galilee near Israel’s border with Lebanon.