Jewish leaders have welcomed the return of four hostages taken captive by Hamas militants following a rescue operation carried out by the Israeli military.
Local officials reported more than 200 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 were injured after Israeli forces heavily bombarded Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday. The exact death toll of the operation has not been verified.
Four Israeli hostages were freed during the campaign, including Noah Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv. The group were among the 250 people abducted by Palestinian militants after Hamas launched an attack on the Nova music festival on October 7, killing 1200.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said there were “tears of joy” in Jewish households after hearing the news and called for the remaining 150 captives to be freed.
“The rescue of Noa Argamani particularly touched our community. The scene of Noa being dragged away from a music festival and hauled into captivity on the back of a motorbike pleading for her life, is one of the defining images of October 7,” Mr Ryvchin said.
“Israeli officials confirmed in a statement that the freed hostages were found in good medical condition and since have been transferred to hospitals in Israel for further examination.
Meanwhile, health authorities and Palestinian media have reported that a large number of wounded Gazans have flooded the remaining medical facilities in central Gaza, which have been overwhelmed amid shortages of medical equipment and generators.
Domestic tensions over Australia’s response to the conflict reached boiling point this week after the federal government accused the Greens of inflaming social divisions around the crisis.
Greens leader Adam Bandt declared the federal government was “complicit in genocide” after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed the minor party was encouraging pro-Palestinian protesters to target MPs’ offices.
Political debate further deteriorated after the Greens leader threatened defamation action against Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, over remarks he made to the ABC about the party’s role in the protests.
Speaking on Sunday, Education Minister Jason Clare said people across Australia were “hurting” watching scenes unfold in the Middle East.
“Those dead bodies that we see on television for many Jewish Australians, and for many Palestinian and Muslim Australians, they have names and their mum or their dad, their relatives, their family friends, and that’s how they feel, that personally, in a way that you and I guess we find hard to really, truly understand,” he told Sky.