World
How Israel's daring hostage rescue mission unfolded: 'A surgical operation'
New details about Israel’s bold rescue of four hostages are coming to light with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) describing the daytime operation as a “high-risk, complex mission” that was “surgical” in its precision.
The mission was planned for weeks using “precise intelligence” and took place at around 11 a.m. local time in the heart of Nuseirat in central Gaza, according to Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari of the IDF.
Officers of the National Police special anti-terror unit of Yamam along with Shin Bet agents simultaneously raided two Hamas buildings to pluck the three male hostages and one female hostage to safety. The soldiers had been undergoing intense training for weeks in preparation for the rescue mission, Hagari said.
ISRAEL RESCUES 4 HOSTAGES KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: ‘WE ARE OVERJOYED’
Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Shlomi Ziv, 41, and Andrey Kozlov, 27, were rescued in two separate locations in a complex daytime operation in the heart of Nuseirat in central Gaza. (IDF)
Noa Argamani, 26, was rescued at one site, while Almog Meir Jan, 22, Shlomi Ziv, 41, and Andrey Kozlov, 27, were taken from the second location. Argamani has been one of the most widely recognized hostages since video of her abduction was among the first to surface. She can be seen in the video between two men on a motorcycle with one arm outstretched and the other held down as she screams “Don’t kill me!”
Dramatic aerial footage from this morning’s rescue shows Meir Jan, Kozlov and Ziv running with Israeli forces to a waiting helicopter before the chopper takes off to bring them to safety.
During the operation, Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, 36, an officer in the special anti-terror unit of Yamam, was critically injured and later died from his injuries. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Under 100 Palestinians were killed in the raid, Hagari said.
Hagari said Hamas has been holding hostages inside civilian buildings, and Israeli intelligence was able to pinpoint two of these buildings in Nuseirat where families were staying with armed guards inside.
Video: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meets rescued hostages
The buildings were about 650 feet apart, and Israeli forces decided to move on both buildings at the same time because they feared Hamas might kill hostages in one of the buildings if they saw the other coming under attack.
“This is a huge risk because they might have thought that we were preparing for another raid,” Hagari said. “You have to understand that they’re moving the hostages from flat to flat.”
Hagari said the decision to carry out the mission during the day was also to bring about an element of surprise because Hamas would not have been expecting it.
Noa Argaman hugging her father, left; Andrey Kozlov, top right, leaving a helicopter; and military leaders planning the operation, bottom right. (IDF)
“In the daytime, you take more risks to make sure the surprise element is kept, and we understood that inside the flats it would give us leverage,” Hagari said. “We surprised them completely, but it was still hard,” he said.
The command to go was given at 11 a.m. and, 25 minutes later, the raid started, he said.
Israeli forces exchanged gunfire with the guards in the building with the three male hostages. In the crossfire, Zmora was injured and then later died at a hospital, Hagari said.
“He is a warrior that gave his life for bringing home four hostages alive,” Hagari said of Zmora.
As soldiers left the building, they were also met with gunfire and RPG fire, leading to their vehicle being stuck. Other forces came to their rescue and helped them flee.
The hostages were then taken to two helicopters with the second of those helicopters taking the three hostages and Zmora.
Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant approves the operation to rescue the hostages together with IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Head of the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva and Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Alon. (Ariel Hermoni/IMoD)
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Hagari said the command room where the mission was being directed was tense while it took “hundreds of warriors” in the surrounding area to carry out the operation.
“This is a surgical operation, like a brain operation; it has to be so accurate. Imagine that on a civilian street with a lot of people around with trucks and cars,” Hagari said.
Hagari said under 100 Palestinian casualties were reported, and he wasn’t sure how many of them were terrorists.
Almog Jan Meir reunited with his family (IDF)
“But they were using the civilians to embed them with the hostages. They were using the civilians to fire on the Israeli forces when they went out. And from the operation at this level, so many fires was a lot of force. We needed to fire from the air and from the street,” Hagari said.
“And some of the casualties were terrorists in the [prepared] targets that we had, and the Air Force conducted the fire during the operation.”
To prepare for the mission, Hagari said Israeli forces had built models of the buildings to practice the raid and gathered intelligence in “multiple ways” to ensure the operation would be successful.
“We have tried in the past, but in the end did not execute because we understood we didn’t have the right conditions, the right leverage,” Hagari said.
“In the past, we conducted in-field operations more than three or four times. Forces from special units were waiting to raid an apartment, but we did not execute that because we understood that we didn’t have this leverage. This type of operation has a lot of details, like in a puzzle.
Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora was killed during the raid. (IDF)
“We need to make sure — and we never have all the links — that we have enough links to ensure that.”
Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant described the mission as one of the “most heroic and extraordinary operations” he had witnessed over the course of his 47 years serving in Israel’s defense establishment.
“Our troops showed so much courage operating under heavy fire in the most complex [urban environment in Gaza],” Gallant said.
“I do not remember having completed operations of this kind at this intensity and with this level of cooperation and success.”
Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
Published on
At least 58 states and territories are contaminated by anti-personnel mines, the UN rights chief said on Tuesday, with heavy civilian casualties in Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
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“It is deeply troubling that almost 30 years since the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty was adopted, these explosive weapons continue to kill and injure people, often decades after they were placed,” Volker Türk said in a statement.
“It is essential that all states recommit to putting an end to the production, use and transfer of these weapons and redouble their efforts to cooperate in clearing mines already placed.”
Türk produced a report on the situation, drawing on information from governments, NGOs, humanitarian organisations and civil society.
At least 945 people were killed and 4,325 injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2024 alone, it said, citing the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor.
“Among victims where the status as military or civilian was known, civilians made up approximately 90% of all recorded casualties in 2024,” the report said.
The states with the highest number of casualties in 2024 were Myanmar with 2,029, Syria with 1,015, then Afghanistan with 624, followed by Ukraine, Nigeria, Mali, Yemen and Burkina Faso, which each recorded more than 200 casualties.
In a separate statement, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said mines and explosive remnants of war, including cluster munitions, killed or injured more than 5,000 people in 2025, again with the vast majority being civilians.
Türk’s office noted that children make up more than 40% of all civilian casualties of anti-personnel mines recorded since 1999.
Besides killing and maiming, anti-personnel mines turn areas into no-go zones, Türk’s office said, hampering rights, prolonging displacement and stopping land from being used for agriculture.
While the Ottawa mine ban convention has 162 states parties, Türk noted that other countries with considerable stockpiles are not yet members.
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland recently withdrew and Ukraine is suspending its implementation.
“States that have not yet ratified the treaty should promptly do so and those that have withdrawn should quickly rejoin,” said Türk.
He hailed Lebanon’s recent decision to join the Ottawa convention, despite the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Türk’s report said that in the seven years to 2025, contributions to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action sharply decreased from $125 million to $46 million (€107 million to €39 million).
Additional sources • AFP
World
Studiocanal Reveals Sales on Multiple Cannes Market Titles, Including ‘The Midnight Library,’ ‘Words of Love,’ ‘Another Day’
Studiocanal has revealed that it has closed sales on multiple films that either premiered at the Cannes Film Festival or are on its development and production slate, including “The Midnight Library.” The company also said it is negotiating presales on the new Paddington animated film.
“The Midnight Library,” starring and produced by Academy Award nominee Florence Pugh, emerged as one of the hottest titles at this year’s Cannes Film Market. After a competitive bidding war between studios, the film sold to Paramount Pictures for North America and numerous foreign territories.
Beyond Paramount’s territories, “The Midnight Library” will be distributed by Scanbox in Scandinavia, Sun Africa Group/MultiChoice in South Africa, and Filmcoopi in Switzerland. Studiocanal will release the film across its territory footprint, including the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand.
Studiocanal also closed deals for Rudi Rosenberg’s Un Certain Regard film “Words of Love,” Volker Schlöndorff’s “Visitation,” Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Violette,” Jeanne Herry’s Cannes competition selection “Another Day,” Simon Stone’s “Elsinore,” Jonathan Schey’s “Everybody Wants to F*ck Me,” Danny Boyle’s “Ink” and Fred Cavayé’s “Les Misérables.” Studiocanal will release the films in its territories.
Sales for the films are as follows:
“Elsinore”
Anuvu for airlines, MCF for Ex-Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, Spentzos for Greece, ADS for Hungary, Lev for Israel, Lusomundo for Portugal, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Sun Africa Group/MultiChoice for South Africa, Filmcoopi for Switzerland, and Bir Film for Turkey. It will be released in the U.S. in 2027 by LD Entertainment.
“Everybody Wants to F*Ck Me”
ACME for the Baltics, Prorom for Eastern Europe, Blitz for Ex-Yugoslavia, Myndform for Iceland, Lionsgate for India, Lev for Israel, Imagem for Latin America, Mongol Films for Mongolia, Lusomundo for Portugal, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Sun Africa Group/MultiChoice for South Africa, KTH for South Korea, Filmcoopi for Switzerland, Catchplay for Taiwan, and Svoe Kino for Ukraine.
“Ink”
Echolake for airlines, Cinelibri for Bulgaria, VVS for Canada, AQS for Czech Republic and Slovakia, Karantanja for Ex-Yugoslavia, Spentzos for Greece, Cinetel for Hungary, Myndform for Iceland, MVP for India, Shoval for Israel, Mongol Films for Mongolia, Lusomundo for Portugal, Independenta for Romania, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Sun Africa Group/MultiChoice for South Africa, NK Content for South Korea, Wanda for Spain, Ascot Elite for Switzerland, Fabula Films for Turkey, and UFD for Ukraine.
“Les Miserables”
Skeye for airlines, ACME for the Baltics, Cinelibri for Bulgaria, TVA for Canada, AQS for Czech Republic and Slovakia, Karantanja for Ex-Yugoslavia, Pathé Touch for French-speaking Africa, Spentzos for Greece, ADS for Hungary, Synapse for Latin America, GSC for Malaysia, Italia for the Middle East, Lusomundo for Portugal, Independenta for Romania, Shaw for Singapore, Scene & Sound for South Korea, Beta Fiction for Spain, DCM for Switzerland, Bir Film for Turkey, and Ad Astra for Ukraine.
“Words of Love”
Cineart for Benelux, Beta for Bulgaria, Immina for Canada, Pandora for Germany and Austria, Danaos for Greece, New Cinema for Israel, Teodora for Italy, Angel Films for Scandinavia, Atalante for Spain, Frenetic for Switzerland, and Mars for Turkey.
“Visitation”
Moving Story for Australia and New Zealand, Artifilm for Benelux, Beta for Bulgaria, Karantanija for Ex-Yugoslavia, Spentzos for Greece, Lev for Israel, Cetera for Japan, Alambique for Portugal, Scanbox for Scandinavia, A Contracorriente for Spain, and Filmcoopi for Switzerland.
“Violette”
Skeye for airlines, ACME for the Baltics, Cinelibri for Bulgaria, VVS for Canada, Blue Media for China, MCF for Ex-Yugoslavia, Spentzos for Greece, Vertigo for Hungary, Lev for Israel, Lucky Red for Italy, Lusomundo for Portugal, Bad Unicorn for Romania, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Shaw for Singapore, Beta Fiction for Spain, Frenetic for Switzerland, Bir for Turkey, and Arthouse for Ukraine.
“Another Day”
MCF for Ex-Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, Spentzos for Greece, Europictures for Italy, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Shaw for Singapore, Frenetic for Switzerland, Lusomundo for Portugal, and Mars for Turkey.
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Three men face potential charges after a 21-year-old woman died when rope-jumping instructors allegedly launched her from a bridge without attaching the safety ropes meant to stop her fall, authorities said.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, a 21-year-old student, died Saturday during a rope-jumping event at an abandoned bridge about 90 miles northwest of São Paulo, Brazil.
Police investigator Andrea Levy told reporters Monday that the three instructors involved in the jump acknowledged that Rodrigues de Freitas was not connected to any safety equipment before she was launched from the bridge.
“They do not remember whether they forgot to attach [the ropes], or who was supposed to do it, or who failed to check. But the fact is the ropes were not attached to her,” Levy said.
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The Ponte do Esqueleto, or “Skeleton Bridge,” is located in São Paulo, Brazil. (Google Maps)
The three instructors were arrested following the incident and could face criminal charges, The Associated Press reported.
Brazilian authorities said the three instructors were arrested on suspicion of homicide with “eventual intent,” a legal concept under Brazilian law that generally applies when a person is deemed to have accepted the risk that a death could occur. According to Brazilian outlet G1, citing investigators, the instructors were booked on the charge at the scene.
Investigators said Rodrigues de Freitas requested to be launched from the bridge “airplane style,” with two instructors lifting her above their shoulders while she stretched out her arms.
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Video shared online appears to show two helmeted men tossing the young woman from the abandoned bridge moments before the fatal fall. The instructors appear to be wearing harnesses connected to safety lines.
Authorities said Rodrigues de Freitas fell approximately 130 feet.
Bungee jumping elastic is pictured here. (Giovanni Mereghetti/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Brazilian media reported that Rodrigues de Freitas had purchased a guided hiking excursion that included the rope jump from the abandoned bridge.
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Rope jumping is an extreme sport that differs from traditional bungee jumping. Instead of elastic cords that create a vertical bounce, rope jumping uses low-stretch climbing ropes designed to transform a fall into a pendulum-like swing.
The City of Limeira identified Rodrigues de Freitas as a resident of Jandira and issued a statement expressing condolences to her family.
“At this moment of pain, the City of Limeira stands in solidarity with the young woman’s family, friends and loved ones,” municipal officials said in a statement Saturday.
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The city said it would cooperate with authorities investigating the incident.
Rodrigues de Freitas was buried Sunday.
Local police are investigating the incident as a homicide. (Facebook/@Comsoc Limeira)
Levy told Brazilian television program “Jornal Nacional” that investigators were examining whether the group conducting the jump was authorized to operate at the site. According to G1, Levy said investigators believe a failure to verify the placement of the safety rope contributed to the fatality.
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In a statement cited by G1, attorneys for the three instructors said their clients had experience conducting the activity and that the incident was the first fatality during their years of operation.
Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the apparent safety failure, including who was responsible for ensuring participants were properly secured before jumping.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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