June 8, 2024 - Israel-Gaza news | CNN (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.

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed by an Israeli bombardment at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on June 8.

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.

People attend a protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 8.

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 speaks during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel, on June 8.

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.

Palestinians inspect a house hit by an Israeli strike in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp on June 8.

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.

Orit Meir, left, Anna Kozlov, Rozi Ziv, Jennifer Master and Yaakov Argamani attend a news conference at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, on June 8.

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.”

Palestinians watch smoke rise following Israeli attacks on Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on Saturday, June 8.

Israel unleashed heavy shelling and artillery fire on central Gaza during its operation to rescue four hostages Saturday.

Nidal Abdo says he was shopping in Nuseirat when a “crazy bombardment” hit.

“There are children torn apart and scattered in the streets. They wiped out Nuseirat. It is hell on earth,” he said.

The Gaza goverment media office says more than 200 Palestinians were killed, and over 400 others wounded, in the raid. CNN cannot independently confirm that figure, and there is no clarity on the breakdown of civilian and militant casualties.

CNN video from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital showed many people carrying wounded children in their arms, covered in blood. More kids crowded the floor of the emergency room. People screamed and cried as they said goodbye to loved ones at the morgue.

Hamas, which took the hostages from Israel in the October 7 attacks that preceded the current Gaza invasion, described Saturday’s Israeli operation as a “horrific massacre against innocent civilians” in a statement.

The images below show more of the scenes from central Gaza today:

Palestinians walk through debris in Nuseirat refugee camp on June 8.

Palestinian women mourn the deaths of loved ones in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on June 8.

Israeli armored vehicles drive through Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on June 8.

A man sits next to the covered bodies of Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on June 8.

Palestinians pack their belongings to migrate to safer areas following attacks in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on June 8.

People celebrate outside Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Saturday.

Friends and family members of the freed hostages have been celebrating outside the Sheba Hospital in the city of Ramat Gan, where the hostages are being treated.

Video footage shows a large crowd chanting slogans, such as: “Hear Israel don’t be afraid” and, “The nation of Israel lives.”

After being rescued by an Israeli military operation from two locations in Nuiseirat, central Gaza, the four hostages were flown by helicopter to the Sheba Hospital, which is located about six miles outside Tel Aviv.

Jubilant scenes of celebration were also seen on the beaches of Tel Aviv, where a lifeguard announced the news to the sunbathers below via loudspeaker. In a video shared by the Tel Aviv municipality, crowds can be heard clapping and screaming enthusiastically.

Israelis living in Athens also gathered to celebrate on Saturday, Israel’s foreign ministry said, sharing a video on social media.

Meanwhile, in central Gaza, Palestinians have described scenes of total destruction in several communities where Israel launched heavy bombardment as it carried out the hostage rescue operation.

The Gaza goverment media office says more than 200 Palestinians were killed, and over 400 others wounded, in the raid. CNN cannot independently confirm that figure, and there is no clarity on the breakdown of civilian and militant casualties.

Andrey Kozlov, center, walks off a military helicopter in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Saturday, June 8.

The parents of Andrey Kozlov, the Russian citizen freed from captivity in Gaza on Saturday, are set to be reunited with their son in Israel on Sunday, according to the Israeli foreign ministry.

Consul General Ran Gidor and Deputy Consul General Tal Shvartsman have been assisting Kozlov’s parents, who will land in Israel on Sunday morning, according to a foreign ministry spokesperson.

Kozlov immigrated to Israel one year ago and was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival on October 7 when he was kidnapped by Hamas, according to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.

The 27-year-old has been receiving medical treatment at the Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, after being freed. The head of the hospital’s returning hostages team, Itai Pessach, told journalists that Kozlov and his fellow hostages are all in a “stable condition.”

Russia’s ambassador to Israel rejoiced at the news of Kozlov’s release during an appearance on Russian state TV on Saturday. “We share the joy of the relatives and friends of all these released hostages, and especially, of course, Andrey Kozlov,” Anatoly Vikrotov told Russia 24.

Russian authorities had been in contact with Kozlov’s relatives for the past eight months, Vikrotov said.

Palestinians look at the aftermath of Israeli attacks in Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza, on Saturday, June 8.

At least 210 people have been killed and more than 400 injured as a result of the Israeli operation to rescue four hostages in central Gaza, the enclave’s government media office said Saturday.

The Israeli security forces operation took place in the areas ofNuseirat, Deiral-Balahandal-Zawaideh.

The killed and wounded are arriving at two hospitals in Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, the media office said.

CNN is not able to independently verify the media office numbers, and there is no clarity on the breakdown of civilian and militant casualties.

Earlier, a CNN producer at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said dozens of injured people were arriving at the medical center.A hospital spokesperson had said the number of injured was so high that it was difficult to confirm the exact toll.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Saturday, June 8.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with rescued hostages and their families at Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan, a city near Tel Aviv, on Saturday.

The prime minister said at a news conference that he celebrated with Noa Argamani and her family, including her father Yaakov, who is also marking his birthday today.

The prime minister said he also met with another rescued captive, Andrey Kozlov.

Netanyahu pledged that Israel is committed to bringing back the remaining hostages in Gaza.

He also said the Israeli government expects Hamas to release them all, but if they don’t, Israel will do “whatever it takes to get them all back home.”

US President Joe Biden delivers statements in Paris, on June 8.

US President Joe Biden made short remarks about the hostage operation in Gaza during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

CNN earlier reported that an American cell in Israel supported the efforts to rescue the four hostages, working with Israeli forces on the operation, according to a US official.

Statement from the White House: The White House commends Israel for the operation,US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. Sullivan added that the US is “supporting all efforts” to get the remaining hostages released including “through ongoing negotiations or other means.”

“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,” Sullivan added.

CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg contributed reporting to this post.

Saturday’s hostage rescue operation resulted in the death of an Israeli police officer who served in a special counterterrorism unit, according to Israeli police.

Arnon Zamora was wounded in the operation in which four Israeli hostages were freed in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Israeli police said, and he died in the hospital.

Zamora served as a commander in the Israeli Border Police’s Yamam unit, according to the police statement.

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People mourn over the bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on June 8.

At least 107 people have been killed as a result of an Israeli military operation in the central Gaza areas of Nuseirat, Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaideh on Saturday, according to a spokesperson at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The bodies of 20 people that were brought to the hospital still need be identified, the spokesperson said.

A CNN producer who is at the hospital says dozens of injured are arriving at the medical center.

The hospital spokesperson earlier said the number of injured is so high that it is difficult to confirm the exact number.

Israel announced it was targeting “terrorist infrastructure” in Nuseirat shortly before saying it had rescued four hostages in the area.

This post has been updated with the number of dead at the hospital.

From left, Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov.

The group of hostages freed from Gaza on Saturday includes a student, security guards and a recent immigrant to Israel.

All four were at the Nova music festival on October 7 near the Israel-Gaza border when they were taken captive by Hamas on what many consider to be one of the darkest days in Israel’s history.

Here’s what to know about each of them, according to a hostage campaign group, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum:

Almog Meir Jan is a 22-year-old from the small city of Or Yehuda, outside Tel Aviv. Meir Jan had been due to start a new job at a technology company on October 8, the day after the Hamas attacks. The advocacy group described him as a “polite” and “helpful” young man with a “wide warm smile.”

Shlomi Ziv is a 41-year-old who was working as a security guard at the music festival when he was kidnapped. Ziv had lived in the local moshav, or agricultural settlement, for 17 years with his wife Miren. The group described him as a “big brother”-type figure who is “always the first to help” those in need.

Andrey Kozlov is a 27-year-old resident of Rishon LeZion, a city about 5 miles south of Tel Aviv. He was also working as a security guard at the Nova festival on October 7. He is a Russian citizen who immigrated to Israel one year ago. Back in January, senior Russian diplomat Mikhail Bogdanov called for the release of Kozlov and two other Russian citizens also being held by Hamas.

Noa Argamani is a 25-year-old who had been studying information systems management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. She quickly became a symbol of the October 7 attacks after video surfaced of her being kidnapped by Hamas fighters on a motorbike. Argamani’s boyfriend, Avinatan Or, was also kidnapped from the festival and remains in Hamas captivity. According to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, Argamani is a yoga and art enthusiast who enjoys hiking in her spare time.

An American cell in Israel supported the efforts to rescue four Israeli hostages, working with Israeli forces on the operation, a US official told CNN.

CNN previously reported that Israel prepared for weeks for Saturday’s operation, with hundreds of personnel from the Israeli military, the domestic intelligence service and a police special unit involved.

Noa Argamani speaks on the phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on June 8.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office released a voice recording in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heard speaking to freed Israeli hostage Noa Argamani.

In the recording, Netanyahu tells Argamani he is glad she was rescued.

Argamani had become a symbol of the October 7 attacks after video emerged of her shouting and pleading from the seat of a motorbike as a group of Hamas fighters drove away with her.

The young woman told Netanyahu she was excited to speak Hebrew, having not spoken the language for a long time.

Netanyahu’s office said later Saturday that the prime minister had approved the rescue operation last Thursday, and was present in the command room duringtheoperation.

In a recording of a phone call between Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Argamani released by Herzog’s office, he told her:

Argamani’s mother has late-stage brain cancer. In a video released last November, she made a desperate plea to be able to see her daughter one more time.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Saturday he was “overjoyed” that the four hostages had been freed. Israeli forces operated “with extraordinary courage under heavy fire, and succeeded in completing their mission,” he said, adding, “Israel’s defense establishment will continue fighting until 120 hostages return home.”

The operation was “a great light in the terribledarkness,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Saturday. “Noa, Shlomi, Almog, and Andrei. We have been waiting for you, and we are still waiting for everyone. Everyone,” the former prime minister added.

Yaakov Argamani, father of hostage Noa Argamani, sits next to a poster of his daughter in Tel Aviv, Israel, in November 2023.

One of the four hostages freed from Gaza on Saturday, Noa Argamani, was featured in one of the most emblematic images of the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas.

The 25-year-old woman, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, made headlines worldwide after a video emerged of her shouting and pleading from the seat of a motorbike as a group of Hamas fighters drove away with her.

In the video, Argamani’s boyfriend, fellow Israeli citizen Avinatan Or, is also led away by Hamas fighters.

Four months later in February, Argamani’s father Yaakov recounted to CNN’s Erin Burnett how he felt when he first saw the video of his daughter: “When I saw the video I fainted. It tore me. This is our only daughter.”

Noa’s mother Liora Argamani is a Chinese citizen who has been grappling with late-stage brain cancer. In a video released last November, she made a desperate plea to be able to see her daughter one more time.

Liora Argamani, center, arrives at a gathering held to honor her daughter in November 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Argamani’s family had previously received signs that she was still alive. The young woman was featured in a video released by Hamas on January 16, in which she announced the death of two fellow hostages in Hamas captivity. It was not clear at the time whether Argamani was speaking under duress.

With the announcement by the Israeli military that four hostages were rescued from Gaza on Saturday, the total number of hostages held in the Gaza Strip from the October 7 attack is now 116.

In addition, four people have been held since before October 7.

The total number of people kidnapped from Israel and being held in the Gaza Strip is 120, according to a count based on numbers from Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The PMO believes that at least 41 hostages from the October 7 attack are dead, with their bodies being held in the Gaza Strip.

Of the four hostages being held in Gazaprior toOctober 7, two are Israeli soldiers who are dead. The other two are believed to be alive.

Andrey Kozlov, one of the rescued hostages, walks off a military helicopter in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Saturday, June 8.

Israeli forces prepared for weeks for Saturday’s special military operation in which four Israeli hostages were rescued.

Hundreds of personnel from the Israeli military, the domestic intelligence service and a police special unit were involved in the rescue, military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday.

Hagari added that the operation had been carried out with assistance from land, sea and air, and that the hostages had been freed under fire.

All four hostages appear to be in good health and will undergo further medical examination and be reunited with their families at an Israeli hospital, Hagari added.

The four freed hostages are Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40.

The spokesperson said the Israel Defense Forces would “do everything” to free the remaining 120 hostages in the Gaza Strip.

Watch footage of the hostages after their rescue:

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Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan, center, is seen in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Saturday, June 8.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum has hailed the Israeli military operation that freed four Israeli hostages from Gaza Saturday as “heroic” and “a miraculous triumph.”

“We continue to call upon the international community to apply the necessary pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed deal and release the other 120 hostages held in captivity; every day there is a day too far,” the group added.

“Good condition”: The four hostages freed in the special military operation in Nuseirat in central Gaza are Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that they are “in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for further medical examinations.”

The Israeli government is under intense pressure to rescue the remaining hostages, with weekly protests calling for their release.

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz attends a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October 2023.

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has postponed a Saturday evening news conference in which he was expected to announce his withdrawal from Israel’s wartime emergency government.

Gantz’s office said Saturday that his conference would be postponed after four Israeli hostages were freed in a special operation in central Gaza.

Gantz said last month that he would resign, along with his National Unity Party, from the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not devise a plan to bring back the hostages and present a day-after strategy for Gaza by June 8.

News of the hostage rescue came as Israeli military said it was “targeting terrorist infrastructure” in the area of Nuseirat in central Gaza.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling is also taking place in the nearby areas of al-Zawaideh and Deir al-Balah, where casualties have been reported.

A CNN producer at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza confirmed at least 16 bodies had arrived at the hospital along with hundreds of injured people, including women and children.

Video shared on social media showed an Apache attack helicopter in the skies above the hospital.

Israel launched anew military operation in central Gazaearlier this week.

From left to right, Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov.

Four Israeli hostages have been freed in a special operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40) were rescued by the Israeli military, intelligence and special forces from two separate locations in Nuseirat, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday.

All four were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7th, according to the IDF.

This is a developing story, more to follow.

Palestinians flee Rafah on June 7.

Nearly all internally displaced persons have left Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, according to the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees.

Only around 100,000 people are still in the area as of June 5, according to an update posted by UNRWA on X Saturday.

All UNRWA shelters in Rafah have also been vacated.

At least 1.2 million displaced Palestinians were estimated by aid agencies and NGOs to be sheltering in Rafah prior to Israel’s assault on the city on May 6, having fled the fighting elsewhere in Gaza.

A total of 1.7 million people are displaced across the Gaza Strip, with families that have already been displaced several times on the move again due to “military operations and Israeli evacuation orders,” according to UNRWA.

As Israel continues its incursion into Rafah, Israel launched a new military operation in central Gaza earlier this week.

Dozens were killed just days ago by a strike on a school run by UNRWA in Nuseirat in central Gaza. An estimated 6,000 people had been sheltering there.

In a still picture taken from a video, family members of those killed by an Israeli airstrike mourn in Deir-al-Balah, Gaza, on June 8.

Sixmembersofonefamilywerekilledby anIsraeliairstrikeincentralGazaovernight, according to medicalofficials Saturday.

A numberofinjuries were also reported when the homeofthe ShaheenfamilyinAl-Bureij was struck.

The bodiesofthe dead and theinjured were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs HospitalinDeir Al-Balah,oneofthe onlyhospitals still functioninginGaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday it was continuing its fighting in Dier al Balah and Bureij after launching a new operation earlier in the week.

Palestinians in central Gaza have reported that the intensity and frequency of Israeli strikes have felt like the beginning of the war.

“Over the past day, IAF aircraft and IDF ground troops struck dozensofterrorist cells andinfrastructures,including an underground terror tunnel that was concealed within a civilian structure,” read the IDF statement, adding that as a result, “secondary explosions were identified, suggesting the presenceofa large amountofweaponryinthe structure.”

CNN cannotindependently verify the statement.

US Army landing craft is seen beached in Ashdod, Israel, on May 26 after being swept by wind and current from the temporary humanitarian pier in the Gaza. Tsafrir Abayov/AP

TheUS military’s temporary pieroff the coast of Gazawasrepaired andreattached to the beach on Friday morning, afterbreaking apart andsustaining damagein heavy seaslast week, the deputy commander of US Central Command said on Friday.

A US defense official said aid distribution would resume on Saturday assuming all goes to plan.

“We anticipate that our goal will be to deliver 500,000 pounds over the beach initially and then ramp that up soon thereafter,” US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said.

TheIsraelimilitarysaid Saturday it had begun securing the area in Gaza around thepier, which will “allow for the continued delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza in the coming days.”

The pier broke apart and sustained damage in heavy seaslast week in a major blow to the American-led effort to create a maritime corridor for humanitarian supplies into the war-torn enclave.

Read more about the pier here.

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on May 30.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has added Israel’s military to a global list of offenders who have committed violations against children, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Friday. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were also added.

The list will appear in an upcoming annual report on children in armed conflict, which will be sent to the UN Security Council next Friday, Dujarric said at a media briefing.

Israel leaks phone call: Dujarric said thesecretary-general’s chief of staff called the Israeli UN mission Friday to give it a “heads up” about the inclusion on the list — a courtesy afforded to newly listed countries.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, made a video recording of the call and leaked part of that on social media.

In the video,Erdan can be heard expressing his outrage at the UN decision, saying Israel has “the most moral army in the world,” and that the move “incentivizes terrorism and acts out of hatred for Israel.”

Some context: Israel’s inclusion on the list comes after eight months of devastating Israeli bombardment and fighting with Hamas in Gaza. In that time, more than15,500 children have been killed, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave.

The UN’s “blacklist” has previously included countries such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The official report will be published June 18, and discussed at a debate in the Security Council on June 26. Asked about ramifications for Israel, the UN spokesperson said it will be up to the council’s members to decide any action.

Dujarric encouraged everyone to read the entire report.

Former Israeli defense minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz attends a meeting with the press on October 29 in Ramot Naftali, Israel.

Former Israeli defense minister and key war cabinet member BennyGantzhas not announced any changes to his plan for withdrawing Saturday from the wartime emergency government formed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gantzwill hold a news conference today at 8:40 p.m. local time (1:40 p.m. ET) in the city of Ramat Gan, his office confirms.

How we got here: Last month,Gantzsaid he would resign, along with his National Unity Party, from the government if Netanyahu did not devise a plan to bring back hostages held in Gaza and present a day-after strategy for the war-torn enclave by June 8. His other demands included the elimination of Hamas and the return of Israeli residents to the north of Israel.

Netanyahu’s office rejectedGantz’s demands, saying the ultimatum would only hurt Israel.

Why it matters: Gantz’swithdrawal from the emergency government would not collapse Netanyahu’s majority in the Knesset, but would risk further isolation for the embattled premier on an international stage.

This comes at a time of daily mass protests in Israel, with many demonstrators calling for immediate elections and the hostages’ release, and some wanting an end to further humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza.

Gantz is considered Netanyahu’s main political challenger and often surpasses him in approval polls.

US ceasefire proposal: It remains unclear how US President Joe Biden’s new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire agreement and hostage release may have impacted Gantz’s deadline. The plan includes a vague outline for a post-war Gaza.

Biden laid out the three-phase proposal last week, saying it was submitted by the Israeli government. But Netanyahu has since said Israel won’t stop fighting until Hamas is destroyed.

CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim contributed reporting to this post.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the press at the port of Ashdod in southern Israel on May 1.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week as the United States seeks toratchet up the pressureon a proposed ceasefire and hostage release deal that the administration argues could bring an end to the war in Gaza.

Blinken will head to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Qatar to “discuss with partners the need to reach a ceasefire agreement that secures the release of all hostages,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announced Friday.

The top US diplomat “will emphasize the importance of Hamas accepting the proposal on the table, which is nearly identical to one Hamas endorsed last month,” Miller said.

Hamas has not yet put forward a formal response to the proposal, which was transmitted to Hamas’ political wing by the Qataris last Thursday. Israel is yet to publicly accept the plan.

Blinken is the latest US official to travel to the region after President Joe Biden outlined the proposed deal last Friday, following visits by CIA Director Bill Burns and NSC official Brett McGurk. The top US diplomat has held a slew of calls to regional partners to discuss the proposal.

Read more about Blinken’s diplomatic push.