Inside the helicopter: Noa Argamani rescued from the Gaza Strip
(credit: IDF)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the European Union, Josep Borrell, on Saturday night condemned Israel for the attacks on Nuseirat in central Gaza, which took place while the four hostages were rescued from Hamas captivity.
Borrell welcomed the release of Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Shlomi Ziv and Andrey Kozlov, and called for the release of all the hostages who remain in captivity. At the same time, he attacked Israel for "another massacre of civilians" and said the reports from Gaza "are appalling. We condemn this in the strongest terms. The bloodbath must end immediately."
According to Hamas, more than 200 Palestinians were killed in attacks in Nuseirat. The IDF spokesman said in an interview with the Saudi Al-Haddath channel that more than 100 were killed - including terrorists and people whom Hamas used as human shields.
The attacks also led to a sharp diplomatic confrontation between Israel and Norway.
Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister, Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, strongly condemned Israel for what he defined as "another massacre of civilians in Gaza."
"Norway condemns attacks on civilians in the strongest terms," he also wrote in a post on the X platform. "We call for the release of all remaining hostages - now. We call for a cease-fire - now. The suffering must end."
Israel's ambassador to Norway, Avi Nir-Feldklein, did not hold back and attacked Kravik for his statement, while reminding the Norwegians of their double standards.
"Norway didn't support last week the World Health Organization assembly amendment calling to release the Israeli hostages. Hostages shouldn't be kept in dense populated areas; Families shouldn't be locking up hostages in their homes on behalf of terror organizations; Civilians shouldn't be kidnapped," Nir-Feldklein wrote in response.
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Damage in Nuseirat from airstrikes during hostage rescue; Noa Argamani talks to her mother after her rescue from Gaza
(Photos: IDF spokesperson's unit, AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Israel has not only the right to rescue its kidnapped citizens, but the obligation to do so. Those that kidnapped civilians, paid families to keep them as hostages in their homes in a middle of populated residential area are responsible for each and every casualty," emphasized the Israeli ambassador to Norway, placing the blame for the Gazan deaths squarely on Hamas.
Egypt also condemned Israel following the attacks in Nuseirat, saying that "this is a violation of international humanitarian law and human rights." The Foreign Ministry in Cairo said that Israel has "legal and moral responsibility" for the attacks. Egypt, which is serving as mediator between Israel and Hamas during the war, said that it "calls on the international authorities to intervene to stop the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip."
Later, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a similarly harsh statement, in which it reported the death toll in Nuseirat as 150. Jordan condemned "the Israeli attack that resulted in the death of 150 Palestinians and the injury of hundreds," and said that "this is an incident that reflects systematic harm to Palestinian citizens, in violation of international law and war crimes. Jordan calls on the international community and especially the Security Council to take immediate and urgent action to stop Israel's war crimes in Gaza."