JTA–Israeli forces rescued four hostages held since October 7 in the central Gaza Strip, including Noa Argamani, the festival-goer who was filmed screaming as she was carried away by terrorists on a motorcycle.

In addition to Argamani, 26, the army said in a statement that Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were rescued Saturday in the raid. All four were attending the Nova music festival on October 7 when Hamas terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people and abducted some 250, launching the war.

The army said special forces carried out the operation in Nuseirat in the center of the coastal territory. Arnon Zamora, a commander of the operation, was killed in the battle.

Hamas initially said “dozens” of Palestinians were killed in the operation. Media later quoted the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry as saying the number was more than 200. It did not report what proportion were civilians and what proportion were combatants.

A Hamas spokesman later said that Israeli captives were among the dead, but did not offer any evidence. The spokesman posting on Telegram said the attack would “pose a great danger” to the remaining captives. About 120 people are thought to remain captive, including dozens who have been killed.

Argamani in particular became a symbol of October 7, and especially of the massacre at the Nova festival where terrorists killed 364 people, after footage of her abduction emerged that day. The fate of her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, also seen in the video being led away by terrorists, is not known.

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Note: The IDF has since reported one Al Jazeera “journalist” guarded one group of hostages. Other media reports say “civilians” were responsible for keeping the Jewish hostages from escaping. Western media have attempted to paint the IDF and Israel in a poor light because of reported civilian casualties during the raid to free the hostages Hamas took and kept for eight months.