Israel celebrates rescue of IDF soldier held captive after being kidnapped by Hamas
Israel celebrated the rescue of IDF soldier Pvt. Uri Megidish, who was kidnapped during Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7 and being held in Gaza.
Israel celebrated with songs and fireworks following the rescue of an IDF soldier who was kidnapped during Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7 during its latest advancements in northern Gaza.
Pvt. Uri Megidish was seen hugging her crying grandmother after she was returned to her family on Monday with loved ones and security forces cheering and blowing on kazoos to celebrate her successful rescue.
The festivities rang out around Megidish’s neighborhood in the southern city of Kiryat Gat, with revelers setting off fireworks in the streets, the Jerusalem Post reports.
“It’s like another birth,” Israeli media quoted neighbor Itamar Trobek. “We are very happy. We saw the family, they weren’t the same as yesterday. We prayed a lot.”
The IDF identified Megidish as one of several soldiers who were taken hostage on Oct. 7 after Hamas attacked her base in Nahal Oz.
The military and Shin Bet – Israel’s internal security service – said Megidish was in good condition following a medical check.
“Welcome home, Uri,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on X. “I congratulate the Shin Bet and the IDF for this important and exciting achievement, an achievement that expresses our commitment to the release of all the abductees.”
“The entire nation of Israel salutes the Shin Bet and salutes the IDF. And to the terrorists of Hamas and ISIS I say – you are monsters,” he added. “We will continue to pursue you, we will continue to hunt you down. We will cripple you until you fall at our feet.”
The successful rescue comes as Netanyahu defends Israel’s continued ground incursion into Gaza ahead of an expected all-out assault, reiterating his government’s claim that “military pressure” remains the best course of action to rescue the estimated 239 hostages taken by Hamas.
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“The ground action actually creates the possibility, not the certainty, but the possibility of getting our hostages out because Hamas will not do it unless they are under pressure,” Netanyahu said during a news conference Monday. “This creates pressure.”
Although Hamas has claimed that it will free the hostages if Israel agrees to a ceasefire, the Israeli prime minister has ruled out the option, stating that it “will not happen.”
“Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism,” he said.
The United Nations is currently trying to negotiate a pause in the bloodshed that has left more than 1,400 people dead in Israel and reportedly more than 8,000 in Gaza.
Despite Netanyahu’s refusal, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer suggested the Jewish State was open to a temporary ceasefire agreement in exchange for the hostages in Gaza.
“We will do what we can so that they arrive safely, but this will be a temporary pause in order to transport them safely,” Dermer told reporters Monday.
The hostage situation in Gaza remains at the forefront of Israel’s war on Gaza, with Hamas only releasing four hostages since the start of the conflict.
On Monday, the terrorist organization put out a propaganda video of three kidnapped Israeli women appearing to berate Netanyahu and accusing him of wanting to kill the hostages amid ongoing airstrikes in Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister condemned the video as “cruel psychological propaganda by Hamas-ISIS.”
Hamas claimed that the video was so damning to Netanyahu that Israel attempted to divert attention from it by announcing the rescue of Megidish.
The Israeli government also recently confirmed that Shani Nicole Louk, a German-Israeli tattoo artist who was filmed being paraded through the streets of Gaza, had been beheaded after finding her skull.