A year ago, soldiers from Sayeret Matkal (the IDF special reconnaissance unit) were engaged in a hostage rescue operation that turned into an operation to evacuate the wounded.

Channel 12 News reported this evening (Sunday) on the secret operation that preceded the tragic death of 25-year-old Sahar Baruch, who was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Be'eri during the October 7 massacre and murdered in Hamas captivity.

When the Sayeret Matkal soldiers arrived on the scene, they were certain the hostage they had come to rescue was Noa Argamani, but were operating on faulty intelligence. Argamani would be rescued in June.

As soon as the soldiers opened the door to the building, the terrorists opened heavy fire on them. The operation to rescue the hostage suddenly turned into an operation to rescue the wounded in the rear: the soldiers fought a fierce battle, in which many terrorists were eliminated. Two soldiers were seriously wounded.

It later became clear that the hostage who was being held in the building was not Noa Argamani, but Sahar Baruch. During the rescue operation and the fierce battle that took place in the building, Sahar was shot in the head and killed, and to this day it is not clear whether he was murdered by terrorists or accidentally hit by fire from the IDF forces.

According to the report, since this operation went tragically wrong, hostage rescue operations have been entrusted to YAMAM, the National Counter-Terrorism Unit of the Border Police. It is not clear if this is connected to the results of the operation a year ago.