AP reporters saw dozens of bodies brought to Al-Aqsa hospital from the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah areas, as smoke rose in the distance and armoured vehicles rolled by.

A baby was among the dead. Small children wailed, covered in blood. Bodies were placed on the ground outside, their feet bare, as more wounded were rushed in.

“My two cousins were killed, and two other cousins were seriously injured. They did not commit any sin. They were sitting at home,” one relative said in the chaos at Nuseirat refugee camp. As Palestinians explored the newly destroyed buildings, a small child sat on a collapsed metal door, overwhelmed.

Neighbouring Egypt condemned “with the strongest terms” Israel’s attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp, with its foreign ministry calling it a “flagrant violation of all rules of international law.” Neighbouring Jordan also condemned it.

“The bloodbath must end immediately,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on the social platform X, noting reports of civilian deaths.

Israel’s military said it had attacked “threats to our forces in the area,” adding that one commando died from his wounds.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that military intelligence determined some time ago that the hostages were being held in two apartments, about 200 metres away from each other, in the heart of the Nuseirat camp. He said the forces had trained repeatedly on a model of the apartment buildings.

Hagari said the forces moved in simultaneously in broad daylight on both apartments, believing this ensured the best element of surprise. But he said the rescuers came under heavy fire as they moved out, including from gunmen firing rocket-propelled grenades from within the neighbourhood.

“A lot of fire was around us,” he said, adding that the military responded with heavy force, including from aircraft, to extract the rescuers and freed hostages.

A US hostage cell provided advice and support throughout the process of locating and rescuing the hostages, according to a Biden administration official, who was not authorised to comment and requested anonymity. The hostage cells are multi-agency teams.

Hamas took some 250 hostages during the October 7 attack that killed about 1200 people. About half were released in a weeklong ceasefire in November. About 120 hostages remain, with 43 pronounced dead. Survivors include about 15 women, two children under five and two men in their 80s.

Saturday’s operation brought the total number of rescued hostages to seven. Two were freed in February and one was freed in the aftermath of the October attack. Israeli troops have recovered the bodies of at least 16 others, according to the government.

The latest rescue lifted some spirits in Israel as divisions deepen over the best way to bring hostages home. Many Israelis urge Netanyahu to embrace a ceasefire deal US President Joe Biden announced last month, but far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does.

Netanyahu, whose support has fallen, rushed to the hospital to greet the freed hostages and his office released a stream of photos and videos of him meeting the families. But thousands of Israelis again gathered on Sunday (AEST) for the latest anti-government demonstration and calls for a ceasefire agreement.

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“It’s time to pay the price of a political deal. One deal that will bring them all back without risking soldiers,” said Omri Shtivi, whose brother Idan marked his 29th birthday on Saturday while in captivity.

It was unclear what effect the rescue might have on apparently stalled ceasefire efforts. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East next week, seeking a breakthrough.

“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,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

International pressure is mounting on Israel to limit civilian bloodshed in its war in Gaza, which reached its eighth month on Friday with more than 36,700 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

AP

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