In a daring, dramatic, and cataclysmic joint effort by Shin Bet and IDF forces, 4 hostages have been rescued from the civilian homes in which Hamas enslaved them. In an operation that shocked and left Hamas and its supporters reeling, Israeli forces liberated Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41 after they were taken hostage at the Supernova music festival in southern Israel on 7 October. Originally called Operation Seeds of Summer, the mission was carried out following a series of feint manoeuvres in broad daylight in an area where Israeli forces had not previously operated, highlighting the widespread civilian involvement and culpability in the October 7 atrocities and in the subsequent aiding and abetting of Hamas in holding hostages. The special mission - which almost failed - saw a number of casualties - the IDF saying under 100 deaths with Hamas reporting at least 210 fatalities. While many expressed and exhibited jubilation and tears of joy over the rescue mission, the operation provoked widespread expressions of outrage among Hamas supporters and sympathisers and others lacking moral clarity over the rescue. Join Regan
King and Alistair Scott as they discuss the latest from Israel/Gaza in this edition of Behind the Headlines.