International
Israel announces the rescue of four hostages in operations in central Gaza
The Israeli Army rescued four hostages on Saturday in two places in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the center of the Gaza Strip, where they have carried out intense attacks in which at least 50 Palestinians have been killed.
The hostages rescued alive are Noa Argamani, 25, from Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, who were kidnapped by Hamas at the ‘Nova’ music festival on October 7.
“They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for more medical examinations,” the Army said in a statement.
Both President Isaac Herzog, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke to the rescued hostage Noa Argamani, whose release was widely demanded by Israel for humanitarian reasons since her mother is terminally ill with cancer.
“I hug you on behalf of the entire nation of Israel,” Herzog told her, while Argamani said she was “very excited” and happy to speak Hebrew again in her conversation with Netanyahu, disseminated by her office.
“In Hebrew and at home, which is also important. We don’t give up on you for a moment. I don’t know if you believed it, but we believed it and I’m glad it happened,” the prime minister replied. “Improve with your family and also embrace your mother,” he added.
The operation was carried out between Army troops, Shin Bet agents and the elite police force Yamam, at two points in the heart of Nuseirat, where the Government of Gaza reported shortly before dozens of deaths and injuries in intense bombings, at least 50 at the moment.
The Army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, indicated that during the operation the troops “faced threats,” and a Yaman force agent was seriously injured, the police confirmed.
“In a heroic operational activity, our fighters managed to free four hostages from Hamas’ captivity and return them to their home in Israel,” celebrated the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, who followed the operation from the command room that was carried out “under intense fire.”
The head of the opposition, the centrist Yair Lapid, also celebrated the return, which he considered “a great light in the terrible darkness,” and congratulated the security forces for that “bold and courageous operation.”
“It’s a miraculous triumph. Now, with the joy that floods Israel, the Israeli Government must remember its commitment to recover the hostages that Hamas still holds: those who live for their rehabilitation, those killed for their burial,” demanded the Forum of Families of Hostages and Kidnapped.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that “once again, they have shown that Israel does not surrender to terrorism and acts with unlimited creativity and courage to bring home our kidnapped,” he said.
Netanyahu also greeted “the brave fighters who risked their lives today to save lives,” says a statement from his office accompanied by a photo in which he is seen supervising the rescue operation in the command room along with the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, and the chiefs of the General Staff and Shin Bet, among others.
“We are committed to doing it in the future as well. We will not stop until we complete the mission and return all our kidnapped home, both the living and the dead,” the minister promised.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday asked the minister of the war cabinet Benny Gantz not to leave the government of national unity and emergency, as he planned to do today in a public appearance that he canceled after the successful rescue of four hostages in Gaza.
“I aske Benny Gantz not to leave the emergency government. Don’t give up unity,” Netanyahu wrote publicly on his X account.
At least 210 Palestinians have been killed and more than 400 have been injured in the Israeli operation to rescue four hostages in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, the Government of Hamas announced.
These figures refer to the victims who arrived at the Martyrs Hospital of Al Aqsa, in the nearby city of Deir al Balah, and at the Al Awda Hospital, in Nuseirat, according to the Islamist group.
“We condemn the aggression of the ‘Israeli’ occupation against civilians, children and women, and against safe homes in the Nuseirat camp and against the central governorate, and we fully hold the occupation and the US administration responsible for this catastrophic crime in which he spilled the blood of dozens of innocent civilians,” said the Hamas Executive.
Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Qasam Brigades – the armed wing of Hamas -, said on Saturday that in the Israeli operation to rescue four hostages in Nuseirat, central of the Gaza Strip, other kidnappees who were in the area were killed.
“The enemy managed to free some of his captives by committing horrible massacres, but at the same time he killed some of them during the operation,” he said in a statement without providing further evidence.
“What the Zionist enemy carried out in the Nuseirat area is an aggravated war crime, and the first harmed by him are his captives. The operation will pose a great danger to the enemy’s captives and will have a negative impact on their conditions and lives,” said Abu Obeida.
The Qasam Brigades assured months ago that at least 70 hostages had died in captivity by the “Sionist bombings” and last month indicated that they had taken captive several Israeli soldiers in Yabalia, north of the enclave.
With this rescue, of the 251 kidnapped on October 7, 116 captives remain in the enclave, at least 40 of them dead according to Israel; while there have been four other hostages for years, of them two dead.
Since the war began, Israel and Hamas only achieved a one-week truce agreement at the end of November, which allowed 105 hostages to be released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
In addition, four hostages were released by Hamas in October; seven rescued by the Army – counting today’s – and the bodies of 20 hostages have been recovered, three of whom mistakenly killed the Israeli troops.
Last month Israel recovered the bodies of seven hostages in several operations in the Yabalia refugee camp, most of them also kidnapped at the Nova festival; and last week it confirmed the death of four hostages – all elderly men – killed in captivity, although their bodies are still held in the Strip.
The Hamas-controlled government of Gaza reported dozens of deaths in another Israeli attack at the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, where on Thursday about 40 people were killed in the bombing of a school of the UN agency to help Palestinian refugees UNRWA.
“The ‘Israeli’ occupation army launches an unprecedented brutal attack against the Nuseirat camp, leaving dozens of martyrs and wounded in the streets, and continues its aggression against the central governorate,” he said in a statement.
The Israeli Army confirmed that it was “attacking terrorist infrastructure in the Nuseirat area,” without providing more details.
The Gazati Government highlighted that the Martíres Hospital of Al Aqsa in the nearby city of Deir al Balah, the only one that works in the central area, has been in a catastrophic situation for days, and in the last few hours it has “a large number of martyrs and wounded, mostly women and children.”
They warned that dozens of injured people lie on the floor of the hospital, which suffers a serious shortage of medicines and fuel, which has caused the shutdown of the main electric generator and only works with one of lower capacity.
On the other hand, the Israeli Army is imposing “security measures” on the coast of the Gaza Strip, so that the dock built by the United States over the Mediterranean Sea for the distribution of aid returns to operate after being repaired after being damaged by a storm.
“The Israel Defense Forces are carrying out security measures on the coast of Gaza so that the US dock is prepared for the continuous delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza people,” a military statement said.
The US Central Command reported yesterday that it had already repaired the dock that was out of service at the end of May since the pontoon that joined it with the beach was damaged by a storm and needed to be repaired.
International
Looting Spreads in Venezuela’s Hardest-Hit Areas After Deadly Earthquakes
Not even the wires were left behind at a small grocery store. Before the ground had even stopped shaking, looting and theft began in the areas hardest hit by the double earthquake that struck Venezuela.
Reports of robberies have multiplied in the coastal state of La Guaira, located near Caracas and now transformed into a landscape of collapsed buildings and debris.
Videos circulating on social media show groups of people removing boxes of household appliances from a damaged store. Other images show similar boxes being carried on top of vehicles and motorcycles.
Social media platforms have also been filled with accusations against police officers and military personnel who allegedly stole from homes and even from victims who died during the disaster.
A branch of a major pharmacy chain was looted, along with supermarkets and other businesses. Some residents have described the situation as “disaster tourism,” while others say the looting reflects hunger and desperation among people who lost everything in a country already facing a prolonged economic crisis.
“Is it fair that our own people turn against our own people?” said María Esther Bernal, 71, who rented commercial spaces to Chinese merchants, all of which were looted. “They left nothing behind, not even the wallpaper. They even took the cables,” she said.
“Next door, a man died. He was Chinese. People walked over his body while they looted the place. It was a supermarket,” she added.
An AFP journalist witnessed looting in La Guaira since Thursday, following the earthquakes.
Jenifer Mayora, 34, defended some of the actions, saying that “the things people took were because the owners of the stores allowed us to take them.”
However, she criticized the limited response from authorities. “I have been waiting for a mattress so my children can sleep,” she said.
Residents have expressed anger over what they describe as a slow and insufficient response from authorities after the double earthquake, which has left around 1,450 people dead and tens of thousands missing.
Communities are demanding not only faster rescue operations in La Guaira, but also stronger security measures and urgent assistance with food, water, and medicine.
International
UN warns Venezuela earthquakes could affect up to 6.76 million people
Up to 6.76 million people could be affected by the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24, according to an assessment released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency.
The organization said the projections are based on available population data and damage assessments, and include up to two million people living in Caracas, the country’s capital.
The estimates highlight the potentially massive humanitarian impact of the disaster, the IOM warned.
Entire buildings collapsed in La Guaira, a coastal area north of Caracas, following the powerful twin earthquakes that reached magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 on Wednesday.
The national death toll has risen to 920, while rescue teams continue searching for people trapped beneath the rubble in coastal regions and other affected areas.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told AFP on Friday that more than 50,000 people were reported missing.
The IOM also revealed that it worked with Microsoft’s artificial intelligence laboratory on an initial satellite mapping analysis, which showed that 31.5% of buildings in the town of Catia La Mar had suffered damage.
Authorities and international rescue teams continue operations as Venezuela faces one of its largest humanitarian emergencies in recent years.
International
United Nations Coordinates Relief Efforts as Venezuela Death Toll Rises After Twin Quakes
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday expressed his condolences to the people of Venezuela following the two devastating earthquakes that struck the country and highlighted the ongoing coordination between UN humanitarian teams and interim President Delcy Rodríguez.
Speaking during the UN’s daily press briefing, spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Guterres was deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread destruction caused by the disaster.
“The Secretary-General is deeply distressed by the loss of life and the widespread devastation caused by the earthquakes that struck Venezuela yesterday. He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured,” Dujarric stated.
Venezuela was struck on Wednesday by two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. According to official figures, the disaster has left at least 164 people dead and 971 others injured.
Dujarric noted that preliminary reports indicate significant damage across several states, including the capital, Caracas. Numerous casualties have been reported, while other individuals remain trapped beneath collapsed structures or are still missing.
“Critical infrastructure has been damaged and essential services have been disrupted,” the spokesperson said.
The United Nations confirmed that its humanitarian team remains in close contact with interim President Delcy Rodríguez and other relevant authorities as emergency operations continue.
To support relief efforts, the UN has established a coordination center in Caracas and is assisting local authorities to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches affected communities as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Guterres also welcomed the expressions of solidarity and offers of assistance from countries around the world that responded following news of the disaster, underscoring the importance of international cooperation in addressing the humanitarian emergency.
Looting Spreads in Venezuela’s Hardest-Hit Areas After Deadly Earthquakes
UN warns Venezuela earthquakes could affect up to 6.76 million people
United Nations Coordinates Relief Efforts as Venezuela Death Toll Rises After Twin Quakes
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