Gaza's Health Ministry says 274 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raid that rescued 4 hostages
Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 274 Palestinians, including dozens of children, were killed in the Israeli air and ground raid that rescued four hostages held by Hamas
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 274 Palestinians, including dozens of children, were killed, and hundreds more were wounded, in the Israeli raid that rescued four hostages held by Hamas, Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday. The Israeli military said its forces came under heavy fire and responded during the complex daytime operation in central Gaza.
The killing of so many Palestinians, in a raid that Israelis celebrated as a stunning success, showed the heavy cost of such operations on top of the already soaring toll of the 8-month-old war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
The Israeli bombing was “hell,” witness Mohamed al-Habash told The Associated Press. “We saw many fighter jets flying over the area. We saw people fleeing in the streets. Women and children were screaming and crying.”
The operation in Nuseirat, a built-up refugee camp dating to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, was the largest rescue since Oct. 7, when Hamas and other militants stormed across the border, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostage.
