Netanyahu says Israel will 'do whatever it takes' to rescue hostages
After meeting with rescued hostages and their families, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the rescue operation "remarkable" and told reporters they will do "whatever it takes" to get the hostages back.
"We're committed to getting the release of all the hostages, and we expect Hamas to release them all — but if they don't, we'll do whatever it takes to get them all back home. Hamas is committing war crimes every day, including the holding of these hostage.s. Our soldiers are performing in the most valiant and moral way to end this war with a victory against these killers and against these kidnappers, and we shall prevail," Netanyahu said.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces said the hostages were being held in civilian populated areas, without any way to reach them but go through Gaza civilians, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters. Three male hostages were held together in an apartment and a fourth female hostage was held in another apartment just over 650 feet away, Hagari said.
At least 150 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids on Saturday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said.
A United States official provided ABC News with more details about the rescue efforts, noting that the U.S. has been providing regular intelligence sharing and expertise on hostage recovery efforts since Oct. 7.
The official stressed there were no American boots on the ground as part of this effort.
-ABC News' Dana Savir, Bruno Nota and Molly Nagle