Netanyahu has said that the operation to rescue four Israeli captives from the Nuseirat refugee camp, where at least 210 Palestinians were killed, was “successful”, and the country will “do our best to get back the whole of them”, Al Jazeera reports.

“They said that this operation will be [under] very complicated and dangerous circumstances. I knew that, but without hesitation, I decided to do this operation because they were Israeli captives, and I trusted the heroes in Yamam and Shabak [special police commandos and internal security] who attacked and freed the captives,” Netanyahu said at a news conference in the hospital the captives are being treated at.

“Now the captives are with us. The captives are the gold and the diamond we are keen to return back. It is an operation that will be written in history, yes we know that we have to pay the price but I also know the heroes will be always mentioned in the book and the history of Israel.”