Israel-Gaza war: ‘Horror movie’ scenes as 210 Palestinians killed during Israeli rescue mission, Hamas claims
More than 200 Palestinians were killed as Israel raided Gaza to free four hostages, Hamas claims, in one of the bloodiest days of the war.
During the mission, hailed as “heroic” in Israel, the military said it freed the hostages under heavy fire and responded with strikes “from the air and from the street”.
But the ensuing attack on central Gaza’s al Nuseirat, a historic Palestinian refugee camp, led to scenes like a “horror movie”, according to residents.
While Israel acknowledged “under 100” Palestinian casualties, Hamas said at least 210 have been killed and more wounded – though it isn’t clear how many were militants.
Gazan paramedics and residents said the assault killed scores of people and left mangled bodies of men, women and children around a marketplace and a mosque.
The aftermath of an Israeli strike. Pic: Reuters
“It was like a horror movie but this was a real massacre,” said Ziad, 45, a paramedic and resident of Nuseirat, who gave only his first name.
“Israeli drones and warplanes fired all night randomly at people’s houses and at people who tried to flee the area.”
“To free four people, Israel killed dozens of innocent civilians,” he added.
Emergency services tried to ferry the dead and wounded to a hospital in nearby Deir al Balah, but many bodies were still lying in the streets, Ziad and other residents said.
An injured child looks on at al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Pic: Reuters
A man carries a casualty after an Israeli strike. Pic: Reuters
The EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, said the reports of “another massacre” are “appalling”.
“We condemn this in the strongest terms,” he added. “The bloodbath must end immediately.”
Israeli minister Eli Cohen hit back, accusing Mr Borrell of condemning the rescue when he should be criticising Hamas for “hiding the hostages” behind civilians.
Israel named the rescued hostages as Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, whom the military said are in good health.
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan embraces loved ones. Pic: Reuters
They were all kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the deadly raid by Hamas-led Palestinian militants on Israeli towns and villages near Gaza on 7 October.
About 250 hostages were taken back to Gaza during that attack, with Israeli authorities believing 116 hostages remain.
Hostage release ‘less likely’
Sky News international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn said Saturday’s rescue operation may reduce the chances of others being released through negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure to make a ceasefire deal happen, but talks have so far stalled.
A mourner at the funeral of Palestinians killed. Pic: Reuters
That pressure would have increased had his war cabinet partner and political rival Benny Gantz resigned over the lack of future strategy for Gaza, as he had threatened.
He’s decided for now to postpone that move.
US President Joe Biden last week said he had every reason to believe the Israeli prime minister is prolonging the war to save his political skin.
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“Israel believes that military pressure is the best way of breaking their enemy. And Netanyahu’s far right coalition partners oppose such a deal,” Waghorn said.
“They want the campaign to continue until Hamas is completely destroyed, and many among them also fantasise about the resettlement of Gaza by Israel.
“A ceasefire deal could see Netanyahu’s governing coalition fall apart. He has wanted to avoid that at all costs.
“Now that military efforts to rescue the hostages appear to be paying off, he may have less reason to pursue the diplomatic alternative.”
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
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