Hello and welcome to Newsa from the BBC World Service coming to you live from our

studios in Central London I'm Julian Marshall. They've quite understandably been celebrations in Israel at the rescue of four hostages

being held in a refugee camping Gaza as a result of an Israeli military operation on Saturday and relief among the families of the hostages.

The four were among more than 250 people seized last October by Hamas, deemed a terror group by many Western governments

when they launched an attack on Israel killing nearly 1,200 people.

The Economy Minister and a member of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Liqueud Party The economy

and a member of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party near Bakat

told the BBC that it was important to attempt such operations.

This rescue of hostages is one of the most important things Israel has, its highest on our

agenda.

And thank God, I think we could certainly salute to the Israeli defense force, to the government, to the prime minister, for taking that risk and bringing those four hostages back home.

And all their problems that they had is they are Jewish and Israeli.

And the Hamas jihadis want to feel and wipe out Israel. From their perspective,

October 7 is just the beginning.

They intend to do that again and again if they had the opportunity, and we must not let them

have that opportunity.

Yeah, Baccat, but the rescuers come at huge cost in Palestinian lives.

During the operation Israeli forces backed by airstrikes fought intense gun battles in and around

the Nuserra refugee camp. Israel says there were fewer than

a hundred Palestinian casualties. Hamas though has put the number at 274 killed and nearly 700 injured. A girl in New Serrat, Vatul Hussein, described what happened

to her. I was playing over there with my friend.

I was playing over there with my friend.

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