Six days after being rescued from captivity, Andrey Kozlov called Friday for the public to gather tomorrow evening at the hostage square in Tel Aviv in support of the families of the 120 captives still in Gaza.
"I am Andrey Kozlov I'm already in Israel, at home, but a lot of hostages are still there in Gaza," Kozlov stated in his first declaration since being rescued during Operation Arnon.
"I saw a lot of rallies on Saturday and it gave me a lot of hope," he continued. "I ask you to come and support the families of hostages in the hostage square this Saturday. Thank you and Shabat Shalom."
Andrey Kozlov addressing the people of Israel
(Video: Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
On Saturday at 20:00, a rally in support of the families of the hostages will be held at hostages square, marking Father's Day. Alongside Kozlov's statement, which the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released additional footage from the dramatic rescue — this time from the helmet cameras of the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Battalion.
Footage from the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Battalion
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In the footage, the paratroopers arrived at the building, which they secured while the hostages were transferred to IDF vehicles and then to helicopters.
Earlier on Friday, the Jewish Chronicle, the largest Jewish newspaper in Britain, revealed dramatic details about the mission, which began well before June 8.
On May 12, Israel received intelligence about the whereabouts of four hostages in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. From that moment, every branch of Israeli intelligence focused on pinpointing their exact location. Undercover special forces Mista’arvim units were disguised to blend in with the local population and were deployed primarily in the Nuseirat market.
Their mission was to gather intelligence from locals and verify information from interrogated terrorists. Additionally, aerial observation and advanced technological methods were employed to collect data.
After 19 days of intensive collaboration, the intelligence units successfully obtained precise information on the hostages' location. It was found that the hostages were held in two separate buildings within the same area. Noa Argamani was located on the first floor of one building, while the other three hostages were held 800 meters away, on the third floor of another building.