Four hostages, including Noa Argamani, rescued in Gaza raid; scores of Palestinians killed, officials say

Video from an NBC News crew on the ground captured the aftermath in Nuseirat that included a rush of wounded at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, including the bodies of surviving children.

The United States provided intelligence in support of Israel’s successful hostage rescue operation today, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter.

The New York Times first reported the U.S. role.

U.S. officials have said previously that intelligence agencies shifted resources after Hamas' Oct. 7 incursion into Israel and have made intelligence collection on Hamas, hostages abducted that day, and the conflict in Gaza a high priority.

NBC News has reported that Israel has acquired a trove of intelligence on Hamas during its months' long ground offensive. 

The intelligence has been gleaned from hard drives, cellphones, laptops, maps and other material seized during Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, as well as from electronic eavesdropping conducted by the United States.

The U.S. delivered more than 1 million pounds of humanitarian aid to Gaza today, a senior defense official said.

The day's high mark of aid delivered by U.S. Central Command beat the previous one by more than threefold, the official said.

In its initial run from May 16 to May 25, the pier was used to deliver about 2 million pounds of humanitarian aid, officials said.

The news came a day after the Trident pier was repaired and said to be ready to deliver aid within days. It was completed in mid-May as a U.S. lifeline to stave off famine in Gaza but was all but taken out by heavy winds and high seas on May 25.

The deliveries on Saturday were part of a surge of aid needed in Gaza after the pier was temporarily disabled and amid a continued siege by Israeli forces that has severely limited the safe passage of vital supplies.

Central Command said in a statement tonight that the pier, including its equipment and personnel, were not used in the hostage rescue operation.

"The temporary pier on the coast of Gaza was put in place for one purpose only, to help move additional, urgently needed lifesaving assistance into Gaza," the statement said.

At least 210 Palestinians have been killed today in Israel's attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.

The mission to rescue four hostages today at the same site was accompanied by an intense air assault on the densely populated area, Reuters reported.

More than 400 people were injured and taken to Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, the health ministry said in a press release issued by Gaza's media office.

In a briefing, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said they're aware of "about under 100" Palestinian casualties, but he doesn't know "how many from them are terrorists," Reuters reported.

Paramedics and residents in Gaza said Israel's attack killed many and left mangled bodies all around a marketplace and a mosque, according to Reuters.

The Associated Press reported that a baby was among the dead, and that small children could be heard crying as they were covered in blood.

“My two cousins were killed, and two other cousins were seriously injured. They did not commit any sin. They were sitting at home,” a relative told the news service.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling on war Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz not to quit the coalition, saying, “This is the time for unity and not for division.”

“We must remain united within ourselves in the face of the great tasks before us,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X. “I call on Benny Gantz — do not leave the emergency government. Don’t give up on unity.”

In May, Gantz demanded that Netanyahu agree to a day-after plan for the war in Gaza by June 8, and threatened to quit the coalition if an agreement wasn’t forthcoming.

Four Israeli hostages were rescued from central Gaza today by Israeli forces. All of them were captured by Hamas during the Nova music festival on Oct. 7.

Noa Argamani, 26, is from Be’er Sheva and became the face of the hostages after video of her capture showed her screaming as she was carried away on the back of a motorcycle in a roughly 10-second clip. Argamani was kidnapped along with her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, who is believed to still be in Gaza. Argamani is "a yoga and art enthusiast who enjoys hiking" and was studying information systems management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Almog Meir Jan from Or Yehuda was meant to start a new job at a tech company the day after he was captured, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Jan "is a beloved son who connects with everyone through his wide, warm smile," the organization said in a statement. The IDF said Jan is 21 years old while the Forum said he turned 22 in May.

Shlomi Ziv was working as a security guard at the Nova festival when he was taken hostage by Hamas. Ziv, who is from Moshav Elkosh, is described as a family-oriented man who "is always the first to help and take action," the forum said. The IDF indicated that Ziv is 40 years old while the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said he is 41.

Andrey Kozlov, 27, was also working as a security guard at the music festival on Oct. 7 when Hamas captured him. Kozlov had recently moved to Israel from Russia a little over a year ago, according to the families forum. The Israeli Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia, was in contact with Kozlov's parents, an Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said today.

The father of Noa Argamani, who became the face of the hostages taken on Oct. 7 after harrowing video of her abduction was seen around the world, expressed his intense gratitude to everyone involved in the rescue of his daughter.

“After 8 months of being apart from Noa, Noa has returned,” Yaakov Argamani said in a statement from the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters.

“I want to thank each and every one of you, the president, the prime minister, everyone, each and every person,” he said in the statement, which was released after the two were reunited at a local hospital. “Let us not forget that there are still 120 hostages; we must release them.”

“We must make every effort, in every way possible, to bring them here to Israel, to their families,” Argamani said. “Once again, thank you very much, thousands of thanks, to each and every one who had a hand in this matter.”

He also said that Noa was fine and “looks wonderful, looks excellent.” He said Saturday, the day she was rescued, was also his birthday.

“See what a gift I received for my birthday,” he said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today the rescue of four hostages during an operation in Gaza was “an important sign of hope — especially for the many families in Israel who still fear for their loved ones.”

“Four hostages are now free. Hamas must finally release all hostages. The war must end,” Scholz said in a post on X.

In a statement, national security adviser Jake Sullivan commended Israeli security services for their rescue of four Israeli hostages from Gaza and said the U.S. “is supporting all efforts to secure the release” of the remaining hostages.

“This includes through ongoing negotiations or other means,” Sullivan said in the statement. “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.”

Sullivan said the deal is supported by the U.S. as well as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

“They all must be released — now,” Sullivan said of the hostages.