Israel-Gaza war: four hostages from Nova music festival rescued in central Gaza – as it happened

It is just after 6pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv. Here is a recap of the key events from today:

• Israeli forces have rescued four hostages alive from the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, the military said. The four hostages, three male and one woman, had been kidnapped from the Nova music festival on 7 October and were taken to hospital for medical checks, Reuters reports. The army said it rescued Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, in a complex special daytime operation in Nuseirat, AP reported.

• An Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Aitaroun in southern Lebanon killed two people, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported on Saturday. Israel’s IDF said in a statement that its soldiers had identified a Hezbollah militant in the area of Aitaroun and shortly afterward an Israeli aircraft had struck the individual.

• US president Joe Biden welcomed the return of four Israeli hostages rescued alive in Gaza. Speaking at a news conference with the French president, Emmanuel Macon, Biden said he joined his host in welcoming the return of the hostages and vowed, “We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a ceasefire is reached.”

• The Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said that special forces operated under heavy fire and in a complex urban environment when rescuing four hostages from Hamas in Gaza on Saturday.

• Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel does not give into terrorism and that it is operating “creatively and bravely” to bring home the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. “We are committed to do so in the future as well. We will not let up until we complete the mission and return home all the hostages – both those alive and dead,” Netanyahu said.

• Bodies of at least 55 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Al-Nuseirat and other areas in central Gaza, and dozens wounded, in the attacks, arrived on Saturday at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, the health ministry said. The hospital, one of the only hospitals still functioning in Gaza, has been currently operating via one power generator and could go out of service while dozens of injured were still on the streets, a spokesperson from the health ministry said in front of the hospital.

• At least 36,801 Palestinians have been killed and more than 83,680 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the health ministry in Gaza said in a statement on Saturday.

• Israel says more than 130 hostages remain, with about a quarter of those believed dead, and divisions are deepening in the country over the best way to bring them home.

• Israel cannot force its choices on Hamas and the group will accept no deal that does not achieve security for Palestinians, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday in response to an Israeli military offensive in Gaza’s al-Nuseirat area.

• The Israeli military said on Saturday in a rare statement that it was targeting militant infrastructure in Gaza’s Nuseirat area and Gaza’s health ministry reported dozens of people hurt.

• A war cabinet minister looks set to carry through on his threat to quit a government under mounting pressure over its conduct of the military campaign. The office of war cabinet member Benny Gantz has announced a news conference for Saturday, the deadline he gave Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month to approve a postwar plan for Gaza.

• Benny Gantz later delayed a statement he was due to give later on Saturday where he was expected to announce his resignation from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency government.

• Humanitarian aid entering Gaza by sea via a US-built pier will resume in the coming days, the Israeli military said on Saturday, after repairs to the structure were completed. “The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has begun securing the coastal area of the US military’s Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) capability – in Gaza. The pier’s re-establishment will allow for the continued delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza in the coming days,” the Israeli military said.

Thank you for following our live coverage. You can find more about the Israel-Gaza war here.

A video shared on social media shows the moment Israeli hostage Noa Argamani was reunited with her father after being rescued from central Gaza by Israeli forces.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel does not give into terrorism and that it is operating “creatively and bravely” to bring home the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

“We are committed to do so in the future as well. We will not let up until we complete the mission and return home all the hostages – both those alive and dead,” Netanyahu said.

Israel’s centrist war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has delayed a statement he was due to give later on Saturday where he was expected to announce his resignation from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency government.

Last month, Gantz presented the conservative prime minister with a 8 June deadline to come up with a clear day-after strategy for Gaza, where Israel has been pressing a devastating military offensive against the ruling Palestinian militant group Hamas.

But following news that Israeli forces had rescued four Israeli hostages alive from Gaza, the minister’s spokespeople said his statement would be postponed. They did not give a new time for the address, in which political commentators in leading Israeli newspapers said he was expected to announce his resignation, Reuters reports.