Following the completion of IDF and ISA examinations of reports on the subject, it can be confirmed that Al Jazeera journalist Abdallah Aljamal was an operative in the Hamas terrorist organization, who held the hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv captive in his family home in Nuseirat.
"The hostages were held captive by Abdallah Aljamal and members of his family in their home. This is further evidence of the deliberate use of civilian homes and buildings by the Hamas terrorist organization to hold Israeli hostages captive in the Gaza Strip. Israeli security forces will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages home," the IDF stated.
Earlier on Sunday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor Rami Abdu claimed that Israeli forces entered the home of the journalist's father using a ladder and killed several members of the family. According to Abdu, the journalist's 36-year-old wife Fatima Al-Jamal, his father Dr. Ahmad, and an additional daughter were killed in the raid.
In the heroic operation, ISA, Yamam, and IDF forces rescued Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40).
The forces entered Gaza in civilian trucks, and within a few minutes, reached the buildings in which the hostages were held, and entered the buildings with open fire. Only at this stage, when the IAF was carrying out a widescale attack in Nuseirat, did additional Yamam and IDF forces, including tanks from Brigade 7 of the Armored Corps, paratroopers, and Kfir soldiers, arrive at the scene to aid the Yamam forces and help the hostages escape.
Deadly fire was opened on the rescue vehicle holding three hostages, and paratroopers arriving at the scene helped extract the hostages, and the forces returned to Israeli territory.
The hostages were held in Nuseirat, next to families and under heavy security. They were held in three- or four-story buildings, with 200 meters separating the buildings from each other. The male hostages were held separately from Noa Argamani. The forces split into two and worked parallel to each other, with the understanding that if they worked together at one location, the hostages at the second location would be in danger.
Entry to the two apartments was done under heavy fire, in broad daylight. From within the buildings, the terrorists opened fire at the rescue vehicle where Yamam officers were waiting, and the vehicle's tires popped. After the terrorists were eliminated, the forces succeeded in rescuing Noa and the other three hostages.