Israeli army claims to free one female soldier held in Gaza

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army on Monday claimed that its forces had managed to free one Israeli female soldier held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

In a joint statement, the Israeli army and general security service (Shin Bet) identified the soldier as Ori Megidish and claimed to have rescued her during an overnight military operation.

The Israeli statement, however, gave no details on how or when she was rescued, saying this was necessary to protect similar operations in the future. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also hailed her release.

Hamas denied the Israeli claim, saying it aimed to distract from the release of a video of three Israeli female captives earlier Monday in which one asked Netanyahu to heed Hamas’ demands in exchange for their release.

The Al-Qassam Brigades said in an earlier statement that it holds in its captivity some 200-250 people, including Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The Israeli army has so far said there are some 240 "hostages" in Gaza.

Since last weekend the Israeli army has widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise offensive by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Over 9,800 people have been killed in the conflict, including 8,306 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.​​​​​​

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar