Current:Home > ScamsPalestinian family recounts horror of Israel's hostage rescue raid that left a grandfather in mourning -FinTechWorld
Palestinian family recounts horror of Israel's hostage rescue raid that left a grandfather in mourning
View
Date:2025-04-17 11:57:11
Tel Aviv — Since this weekend, when Israeli special forces carried out the mission to rescue four hostages — Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir, and Noa Argamani — dramatic video of the raid shared by the Israeli military has been seen around the world. What's been less visible, however, is the aftermath of that operation, and the Palestinian civilians who survived it.
CBS News' team in Gaza met eyewitness Abedelraof Meqdad, 60, who walked us through his bullet-ridden home, just across the street from where one of the Israeli military vehicles broke down under heavy Hamas gunfire.
The commandos burst into his family apartment, he says, and blindfolded and bound the hands of the men before interrogating them.
- Where things stand on an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal
"There were sound grenades. Women and children were screaming. I told them, 'Why are you shouting? You are scaring the children.' He said, 'shut up or I will shoot you and them.'"
Meqdad told CBS News the Israeli forces then dragged him to the living room, demanding to know if there were fighters or weapons in his home.
"I told them there are no fighters here and no weapons, I am just a merchant," he said.
When it was all over, two of Meqdad's grandsons had been shot.
CBS News found one of them, 16-year-old Moamen Mattar, as doctors reconstructed his mangled arm in a hospital.
He told us his brother didn't survive.
"He was shot right next to me, in the stomach and the leg," Mattar said. "He was 12."
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says 274 people were killed in the rescue operation, and many hundreds more wounded. Israel disputes that number and says casualties are the fault of Hamas, for surrounding the hostages with civilians.
James Elder, the spokesperson for the U.N.'s children's charity UNICEF, is in Gaza this week and he told CBS News he saw the grisly scenes after the raid at the hospital himself.
"Walking in this hospital, absolutely heaving with people, little 3-year-olds, 7-year-olds with these grotesque wounds of war — head injuries and the burns," he said. "It's the smell of burning flesh — it's very hard to get out of one's head."
According to the most recently reported data, about 47% of Gaza's overall population is under 18, accounting for the high proportion of child deaths reported in this conflict.
The prospect of a cease-fire in the war remains in limbo, meanwhile. A frustrated Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Hamas had "waited two weeks and proposed changes" to the current U.S.-backed proposal on the table — which he said Israel had also accepted. "As a result, the war Hamas started will go on."
- In:
- War
- Hostage Situation
- Hamas
- Israel
- Palestinians
- Gaza Strip
Chris Livesay is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in Rome.
TwitterveryGood! (317)
Related
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Dickey Betts reflects on writing ‘Ramblin' Man’ and more The Allman Brothers Band hits
- San Francisco sues Oakland over new airport name that includes ‘San Francisco’
- Two shootings, two different responses — Maine restricts guns while Iowa arms teachers
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s Surprise Performance Is the Sweet Escape You Need Right Now
- Mother charged in death of 14-year-old found ‘emaciated to a skeletal state’
- 50* biggest NFL draft busts of last 50 years: Trey Lance, other 2021 QBs already infamous
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Pesticides pose a significant risk in 20% of fruits and vegetables, Consumer Reports finds
Ranking
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Powerball winning numbers for April 17 drawing: Lottery jackpot rises to $98 million
- Full jury seated at Trump trial on third day of selection process
- Feds push back against judge and say troubled California prison should be shut down without delay
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Did you get a text about unpaid road tolls? It could be a 'smishing' scam, FBI says
- Officer fatally shoots man who confronted him with knife, authorities say
- Valerie Bertinelli's apparent boyfriend confirms relationship: 'I just adore her'
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Walmart's Flash Deals End Tomorrow: Run to Score a $1,300 Laptop for $290 & More Insane Savings Up to 78%
New York man pleads guilty to sending threats to state attorney general and Trump civil case judge
Heat star Jimmy Butler has sprained ligament in knee, will be sidelined several weeks
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
Rap artist GloRilla has been charged with drunken driving in Georgia
Jared Goff calls Detroit new home, says city can relate to being 'cast aside' like he was
Pennsylvania House Dems propose new expulsion rules after remote voting by lawmaker facing a warrant