“One of the most complicated hostage rescue missions in history.”
The rescue operation was named "Summer Seeds" (renamed "Operation Arnon", in honor of the fallen commander of the rescue mission: Arnon Zmora) and one of the most complex ever undertaken in history, even more so than the raid on Entebbe. Movies will be made about this successful humanitarian mission. Courses on military strategy will center around the brilliance of the mission's execution and outcome.
For starters, the hostages were held in a heavily civilian populated area, in 3 & 4 story buildings.
The IDF focused its rescue on the 2 apartments where the hostages were held: Noa, on the 1st floor of building 1; Andrey, Shlomi, & Almogon on the 3rd floor of building 2. The two buildings were roughly 300 meters apart.
Hamas and their Gazan civilian accomplices constantly moved the hostages from apartment to apartment, and the IDF had to be careful that if they went in one apartment at a time, the terrorists would simply move the hostages from one place to the next.
The challenge was to storm the apartments in such a way that the terrorists would NOT shoot the hostages first.
Israel's counter-terrorism unit, called "Yamam", practiced for weeks, in and around similar structures, and even built models from scratch. Adding to the complexity was that the apartments were protected by dozens of terrorists armed with RPGs and machine guns, requiring the IFF to run a dangerous gauntlet of fire in the streets and alleys surrounding the buildings.
Many Gazan civilians were killed during the dense fire exchange, and a large % of the dead hit by Hamas themselves.
According to an IDF spokesperson: "The difference between success and failure in such an operation is a hair's breadth, and we relied on exceptional technology from the Intelligence and Shin Bet. Without ground activity and maneuvering in the Gazan area, it would not have been possible to succeed."
The one on the Israeli casualty was Commander Zamora, who was a true hero. "Shin Bet and Intelligence Directorate fighters entered the lion's den in the refugee camp and dismantled houses in areas where we hadn't maneuvered," they said. "This is bravery on the level of Judah Maccabee. The operation was planned for weeks with drills, rescue plans, and fires executed, alongside scenarios of cases and responses."
The forces equipped with special weapons developed specifically for the rescue operation, targeted two houses, extracted the hostages, and withdrew while fighting dozens of terrorists. One of the IDF vehicles holding the 3 hostages came under extreme fire and was stuck. Immediately, Division 98 forces rescued the vehicle rescue in deep battle, supported by helicopter gunships, deep in the strip during broad daylight.
Three brigades participated in the battle (during which mortally injured Zamora was evacuated to the hospital): Brigade 7, Paratroopers, and Kfir with Flotilla 13, along with various special forces.
"The fire plan that was executed was focused but extremely powerful," the IDF added. "The cooperation with Shin Bet and Yamam rose to several levels into a single operational system, under the direction of the Shin Bet chief and the Chief of Staff. Four keys to the operation: deception, surprise, determination, and power."
The element of surprises was paramount in the success of operating Summer Seeds. Leading up to the launch on June 8th, intense secrecy was maintained. No battle plans were leaked to the New York Times. Thousands of soldiers involved in the operation were unaware of the ultimate goal. Only a handful of were exposed on the day of the battle, yesterday, at various levels. These forces were positioned at the correct launch points without revealing any of the key specifics.
https://youtu.be/WrGS2q9f5xA?si=MUq462aVALpkEqgS
