Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Israeli hostages rescued, Palestinians killed in raid (2024)

The death toll in central Gaza has risen to at least 236 following Saturday's Israeli security forces operation to rescue four hostages from the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to hospital officials in the enclave.

Al-Awda Hospital director Dr. Marwan Abu Nasser told CNN that 142 bodies had been counted at the medical facility by late Saturday following Israel's raid, which was accompanied by heavy artillery fire and shelling.

Meanwhile, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah had counted 94 bodies at their medical facility, spokesperson Khalil al-Dikran told CNN.

CNN has no way of verifying casualty numbers reported by Palestinian officials in Gaza, due to the lack of international media access to the strip. Medical records in the war-torn enclave do not differentiate between civilians and militants killed.

Palestinian civilians described scenes of horror during the Israeli military operation, telling journalists that children had been "torn apart and scattered in the streets" by heavy bombardment. CNN video from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital showed many people carrying wounded children in their arms, covered in blood, and patients crowding the floor of the emergency room.

Israel's military said Hamas, which took the hostages during the deadly October 7 attacks on Israel, had been keeping the captives in multistory civilian buildings.

The Israeli military rescued four hostages held in central Gaza on Saturday in a major daytime operation.

The strip's government media office said at least 210 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 injured by the Israeli bombardment as it carried out the hostage rescue operation.

Here's what we know.

A rare rescue: Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv were freed from captivity by the Israeli military, intelligence and special forces in two separate locations in the Nuseirat refugee camp, the Israel Defense Forces said Saturday. All four were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7. This is only the third such successful operation since the war began.

Over 200 Palestinians dead:

How the operation happened: Israeli forces prepared for weeks for Saturday’s special military raid. IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the hostages had been locked in rooms of apartments in multistory civilian buildings. The IDF opted for a daytime operation for the element of surprise, and similar raids had been called off at the last minute several times, he said. Hagari estimated the number of casualties from the operation to be "under 100." The raid also resulted in the death of an Israeli police officer who served in a special counterterrorism unit, according to Israeli police.

Families reunited, but still call for action: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with rescued hostages and their families at Sheba Hospital in the city of Ramat Gan. Argamani was transferred to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv so she can be treated there alongside her mother, who has late-stage brain cancer. Family members expressed joy at being reunited with their loved ones but also called for the Israeli government to bring back all the hostages still held in Gaza.

US response: An American cell in Israel supported the rescue efforts, working with Israeli forces on the operation, a US official told CNN — referencing a team that’s been in place supporting Israel since October 7 with information gathering about the hostages. US President Joe Biden said Saturday he welcomed news of the rescue, and the White House said it is “supporting all efforts” to get the remaining hostages released.

Gantz postpones remarks: Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, who is viewed as Netanyahu's primary political rival, postponed a Saturday news conference in which he was expected to announce his withdrawal from the country's emergency government. Netanyahu called on Gantz to remain, saying now is a time for unity.

Hamas on Saturday claimed some hostages had been killed during Israel's rescue mission in central Gaza on Saturday,but provided no proof.

Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, made the unverified claim, saying that "by committing horrific massacres," Israel was "able to free some of its hostages, yet it killed some others during the operation."

Obaida did not elaborate on the identities of who had died, or provide any evidence to back up his claim.

Obaida added that the rescue raid "posed a great danger" to the remaining hostages and "will have a devastating impact on their conditions and lives," in his post on Telegram.

Reached for comment, the Israel Defense Forces said, "Hamas is a terrorist organization that uses psychological terrorism in order to achieve its goals, accordingly its statements should be taken with limited credibility."

Israel's military rescued four hostages in the special daylight operation, which Gazan authorities said killed at least 210 people and wounded more than 400 others. CNN cannot independently verify that figure, but journalists in central Gaza relayed scenes of horror and mass casualties from the ground.

The American cell that assisted with Israel's hostage rescue on Saturday is a team that’s been in place supporting the country since October 7 with information gathering about the hostages, a US official said.

There were no US boots on the ground in today'smission, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Some background: CNN previously reported that in the wake of the October 7 Hamasattack, the US offered Israel special operations planning and intelligence support as part of the effort to rescue hostages taken by Hamas, according to a US defense official.

The support would not entail US troops on the ground in Israel. Instead, the assistance would come in the form of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

CNN's Arlette Saenz, Betsy Klein, MJ Lee and Kayla Tausche contributed to this report.

Thousands of people are holding demonstrations across Israel, calling on the government to secure a deal to free the remaining hostages in Gaza.

In Tel Aviv, demonstrators gathered at a plaza informally known as Hostages Square, holding up pictures of the hostages along with signs that read, “Bring them home now.”

Earlier, the crowd also acknowledged Saturday's rescue of four hostages from Gaza and cheered the Israeli military for securing their release.

Many are also demanding new elections, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's current government must step down. Netanyahu faces growing domestic political pressure, including the possible resignation of a key member in the country's emergency wartime government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on key war cabinet member Benny Gantz to stay in Israel's emergency government, saying this is a time for unity, not division.

Some context: Gantz said last month that he and his National Unity party would withdraw from Israel's wartime government by June 8 if Netanyahu did not lay out a plan to bring back the remaining hostages in Gaza and present a strategy for handling the enclave at the end of the war.

Gantz, who is viewed as Netanyahu's primary political rival, postponed a Saturday news conference in which he was expected to announce his withdrawal, following news that Israel had rescued four hostages.

He later released a statement that did not address whether he would leave. And while his comments celebrated the rescue, they also noted Israel's remaining challenges, including freeing the other hostages still held in Gaza.

Hamas on Saturday accused Israel of committing "a horrific massacre" after the Government Media Office in Gaza reported at least 210 people were killed and hundreds more injured in Israeli attacks on central Gaza.

In a written statement, the militant group said Israel's killing of scores of people as it mounted a hostage rescue operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp was a "brutal crime, devoid of the values of civilization and humanity."

Hamas said the rescuing of four hostages alive would not change Israel's "strategic failure in the Gaza Strip," as the group still holds a large number of other hostages after eight months of fighting.

In a separate statement, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said that the "resistance will continue" following the deadly fighting.

Hamas killed at least 1,200 people and took the hostages from Israel in the October 7 attacks that preceded the current Gaza invasion.

CNN has no way of verifying casualty numbers reported by the government media office in Gaza. The office does not differentiate between civilians and militants killed.

An Israeli military spokesperson said Hamas made it impossible for Israeli forces to reach hostages without entering civilian areas since the group was embedded there.

Speaking on Saturday after the rescue operation in which four Israeli hostages were freed, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the hostages had been locked in rooms of apartments in multistory buildings.

Hagari said they had been kept in two separate apartments, with Noa Argamani held in a different building around 200 meters (about 66 feet) away from the three male hostages.

The Israel Defense Forces opted for a daytime operation because of the element of surprise it would give them, he said. Israeli forces had prepared for Saturday’s hostage rescue operation by building models of the apartments, the spokesperson added.

Civilian deaths in Gaza: Hagari estimated the number of casualties from the operation in central Gaza was "under 100,"and he had no information on how many of the victims were civilians. Hagari said the IDF had come under intense fire, especially after withdrawing from the apartments. The spokesperson did not provide evidence for his claims.

At least 210 people were killed and more than 400 injured during the Israeli military operation in centralGaza, the Government Media Office in Gaza said Saturday. It did not specify how many were civilians and how many were combatants.

CNN cannot verify death tolls due to lack of international media access to the strip.

Details on raid: The first phase of Saturday’s operation saw the IDF target militant infrastructure in pre-planned strikes, Hagari said. The IDF had obtained intelligence on the location of the hostages through different avenues, according to Hagari. Hostages being held in Gaza are frequently moved to different locations.

Hagari also told journalists that similar raids had been called off at the last minute “more than three or four times” due to unfavorable conditions for Israeli special forces. Most of the other hostages still held in Gaza are not being held in conditions that would allow for similar operations, he said.

Relatives of the four rescued Israeli hostages said they feel happy and blessed to be reunited with their loved ones Saturday, but they also called on the Israeli government to bring back the remaining captives in Gaza.

Orit Meir, the mother of Almog Meir Jan, said at a news conference Saturday that she is excited to hug her son again.

Meir also thanked the Israeli military and government for rescuing the hostages, but she stressed that dozens of captives are still in Gaza and urged the government to secure their release.

“We want a deal now. We want them to come back home as soon as possible,” she said.

Jennifer Master, the girlfriend of rescued hostage Andrey Kozlov, echoed those sentiments, saying, “Thank you for saving our loved ones. And we wish that all the loved ones will come back home safe and sound and there will be a deal soon.”

Yaakov Argamani, the father of Noa Argamani, added:

Rozi Ziv, the mother of Shlomi Ziv, said, "My dream came true. I wish for the other hostages that their dreams will come true, too."