Israeli occupation forces carried out one of the bloodiest massacres since the start of the war on Saturday, June 8, in a broad daylight attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, leaving at least 210 people dead and injured, including dozens of children, among the victims of the attack.
Israeli warplanes and armed drones bombed many homes in Nuseira in what was described as a “hell” by aid workers. The occupation forces also targeted areas near markets and mosques.
Hundreds of injured people were rushed to Masjid Al-Aqsa Hospital. As the hospital was overcrowded, the injured lay in corridors and doctors rushed to treat them with what resources they had. Hospitals in the region are known to be short of medicines and medical supplies.
Doctors Without Borders described conditions at the hospital as a “nightmare.”
Israel announced that the four hostages from Nuseirat were rescued alive after 246 days: Noah al-Ghamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andri Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv.
The United States, which built a makeshift pier on Gaza’s coast, said it had provided intelligence to help rescue hostages in the bloody attack.
The White House noted that all four hostages were taken to Gaza at the Nova music festival, congratulated key ally Israel on the operation and called for a ceasefire agreement to be on the table and recognized by Hamas.
In an official statement, the US military said the temporary pier on the Mediterranean coast was not used during the rescue operation, and CENTCOM, which oversees US operations in the Middle East, stressed that the port would only be used to accommodate humanitarian aid ships.
In the war, now in its ninth month, Israeli occupation forces were only able to rescue four hostages on Saturday, totalling seven, but a temporary ceasefire at the end of November saw the release of more than 100 hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was determined to keep the war going for the sake of his own political career, appeared on television posing with hostages who had been brought to Israel from Gaza.
Kenneth Roth, former director of Human Rights Watch, said Netanyahu has not accepted a permanent ceasefire and wants a permanent war.
Relatives of hostages killed in Gaza also slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the images he released on Saturday night. Avi Marciano, the father of Noah Marciano, wrote on his social media accounts that Netanyahu only showed up when the hostages were rescued and didn’t even call at other times.
Yonatan Shamriz, the brother of Alon, one of the three hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli occupation forces, also said that Netanyahu took half a day to take the reins in the Oct. 7 raid and met with the four hostages who were rescued within 15 minutes. Noting that the Israeli prime minister risked the hostages’ lives, Shamriz added that if one of the hostages had died in Saturday’s operation, their families would have only received a letter from Netanyahu.
Former Israeli minister Yezhar Shay, whose son was killed in the Oct. 7 attack, expressed his anger by sharing a photo of Netanyahu with his son and writing, “I am one of the parents the PM didn’t bother to call… I’m not angry at him, I’m not shaming him.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also said it was a shame Netanyahu had disappeared at a time when things were not going well.
Relatives of the hostages and Israeli oppositionists protested in many cities on Saturday night, particularly in the capital, Tel Aviv, where police fired tear gas and water cannons at demonstrators who demanded an immediate ceasefire agreement.
