Newly released footage commemorating the second anniversary of Operation Arnon documents a daytime joint raid by the IDF, Shin Bet and YAMAM that freed four hostages from two civilian apartments in Nuseirat on June 8, 2024. Commander Arnon Zamora was mortally wounded and the mission was later named in his honor. Planners delayed the raid to refine intelligence and upgraded from a single-site plan to a simultaneous two-site operation. A stuck extraction vehicle briefly exposed the rescued hostages and rescuers before reinforcements and helicopters completed the evacuation.
Two-Year Anniversary: New Footage of Operation Arnon Shows Dramatic Daytime Rescue of Four Hostages
The four rescued hostages seen at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, on June 8, 2024 (photo credit: Hostages and Missing Families Forum, IDF SPOKESPERSON
Newly released video marking the second anniversary of Operation Arnon documents a high-risk daytime rescue in central Gaza that freed four hostages on June 8, 2024. The footage focuses on the Israel Police Counterterrorism Unit (YAMAM) and shows simultaneous entries into two nearby civilian apartments in Nuseirat, close-quarters fighting with Hamas’s Nukhba fighters, and the tense evacuation that followed.
What the Footage Shows
The clips, published Sunday, show Counterterrorism Unit officers arriving at both addresses nearly simultaneously, forcing entry, securing the hostages — Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov — and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with militants until extraction began.
Planning, Risks and Command Decisions
Planning for the raid began months before June 2024 and was postponed several times to refine intelligence on locations, threats and security parameters. At one stage the mission focused solely on rescuing Noa Argamani; planners later opted for a riskier, simultaneous two-site operation to avoid alerting guards at the second site and risking the lives of the other hostages.
Fallen Border Police Yamam fighter Arnon Zamora (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT, ISRAEL POLICE)
The operation was approved in principle by the war cabinet days before the raid, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Unity representatives Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot. Final execution orders were issued around 11:00 a.m. from a joint operations command center by then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who judged that a daylight assault offered greater surprise despite increased exposure.
Casualties, Complications and Evacuation
Arnon Zamora, the Counterterrorism Unit commander who led the entry, was mortally wounded during the fighting; the mission was subsequently named in his honor. The footage shows Zamora breaching one apartment amid active clashes.
Extractions were complicated after the rescued civilians and Israeli forces boarded a ground extraction vehicle that became immobilized. The stuck vehicle briefly left the hostages and rescuers exposed to a potential large-scale counterattack, including militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades capable of inflicting heavy casualties and striking evacuation helicopters. A coordinated response of ground reinforcements and rescue helicopters ultimately enabled the successful withdrawal of the hostages and forces.
Contributor: Yonah Jeremy Bob
The new footage underscores both the precision required and the grave risks inherent in urban hostage-rescue operations conducted in densely populated environments.
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