The weekend rescue of four Israeli hostages in central Gaza drew praise across Israel, where officials described the operation as heroic, bold, and marked by remarkable courage. Yet it also sparked criticism beyond its borders and questions about adherence to international rules of proportionality and distinction, and the prohibition on killing at the moment of betrayal. These concerns extend to the United States as well. During the mission, the Israeli military conducted air and ground activity that prompted casualties in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of 274 Palestinians, including 64 children and 57 women. Reports from Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades, released via their Telegram channel, also claimed that three hostages were killed in the same operation, including a U.S. citizen. Hebrew-language coverage suggested the rescuers entered the area concealed inside a civilian truck, which according to Gaza witnesses, had left from a humanitarian port facility set up by the United States on the coast. These details raise serious questions about the operation’s legality.
“Early reports of another massacre in Gaza are shocking. They must be condemned with the strongest terms. The bloodshed must end now”, wrote Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, on social media after praising the rescue in a prior post. The operation unfolded in broad daylight at the Nuseirat refugee camp, one of Gaza’s poorest areas now overwhelmed with displaced people who fled Rafah after it was overrun by Israeli forces. A sequence of Al Jazeera images showed a column of tanks moving toward the rescue zone, preceded by a transport truck and a civilian van, suggesting a humanitarian lead-in to the assault.
“From Gaza, reports indicate special forces entered Nuseirat aboard a civilian truck used to move displaced families. There are also claims that after the rescue, the hostages were flown out of Gaza by helicopters that took off near the so‑called humanitarian port built by the Pentagon to deliver aid across the Strip”, observed an Israeli newspaper. Additional videos circulating online hinted that, after recovery, the hostages were evacuated by aerial means that lifted off from the port facilities designated for humanitarian distribution.
“A truck arrived with aid and clothing, and suddenly ten soldiers disembarked and one was shot in the chest and two in the feet. Artillery blasts followed, and dozens of neighbors lay injured, some with severed heads”, a Palestinian who was wounded described. “The truck came from the U.S. port established on Gaza’s coast”, he added.
The bloodiest day in six months
The framework of international humanitarian law emphasizes that fighters should not disguise themselves as civilians or use civilian or humanitarian vehicles to gain advantage for a military strike. It also notes that killing in betrayal qualifies as a war crime under international law, an argument cited by Euro-Med Monitor, a Geneva-based rights group. The organization has called for an independent inquiry to determine whether the U.S. port facility was misused for military purposes and whether that contributed to civilian deaths.
The rescue triggered Gaza’s bloodiest day in six months, with 274 people killed and about 690 injured. According to the Israeli army, its forces were attacked while extracting the hostages, and one of the police commanders leading the operation was killed in the exchange of fire.
Pentagon denial
Washington acknowledged involvement in the rescue, limited to providing intelligence to locate the hostages. This was reportedly handled by the so‑called hostage task force operating from the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem since October 7, relying on drone-derived intelligence from Gaza, interception of communications, and other sources. The security adviser, Jake Sullivan, stated that the United States is supporting all efforts to secure the hostages still held by Hamas, through ongoing negotiations and other means.
But the Pentagon quickly rejected accusations that any of its personnel or facilities in Gaza were used during the deadly rescue. The Central Command asserted that the humanitarian port facilities, including equipment, personnel, and assets, were not involved in today’s rescue operation in Gaza. The statement noted that a southern area of the port was used by Israelis to safely return the hostages to Israel and stressed that the port was constructed solely to aid the distribution of life‑saving assistance to Gaza.