The main Israeli television stations have switched to live coverage of the hostage rescue, breaking the customary quiet and prerecorded programming typical of the Sabbath.
Some broadcast images of Andrey Kozlov and Almog Meir Jan disembarking from a military helicopter and walking unaided, surrounded by security forces. A smiling Mr. Meir Jan gave a thumbs up.
N12, a leading private news website, and others aired video of Noa Argamani receiving a phone call from Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog.
“I am so happy to be here,” Ms. Argamani told Mr. Herzog, adding, “Thank you for this moment.”
Earlier video footage also showed Ms. Argamani being reunited with her father, Yaakov Argamani, as she sat inside a helicopter.
TV stations showed Shlomi Ziv, tearful and emotional, speaking in a video call with his wife, Miran, as she rode in a car on her way to meet him at the hospital.
Spontaneous celebrations broke out across Israel, and Israeli television broadcast images of the gatherings. In Tel Aviv, a lifeguard at a beach announced the news of the rescue to a cheering crowd of sunbathers from the lifeguard tower, according to social media posts. A group gathered outside the hospital near Tel Aviv where the hostages had been taken, singing and dancing with Israeli flags. And a crowd of Israelis were shown celebrating the rescue in a square in Athens.
