The Moment Hostage Ori Megidish Was Rescued

The Shin Bet publishes an annual report of its activity in the past year, during which the security agency says it foiled 1,040 major terror attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem, questioned over 650 suspects from the Gaza Strip, foiled 20 terror cells among Arab Israelis and 13 Iranian espionage plots.

The agency also releases for the first time an audio recording between an agent and Cpl. Ori Megidish, a soldier kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, during her rescue by the military.

In the Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet says that in 2024, its agents assisted in the detention of 1,350 Palestinians passing through army checkpoints, including 40 senior commanders, 165 suspects considered close to top officials, 45 involved in the October 7 onslaught, and 100 who are suspected to have information regarding the Hamas-held hostages.

In all, the Shin Bet says it “handled” some 2,500 suspects who were taken from the Gaza Strip in the past year, of which over 650 were later interrogated by the agency. The Shin Bet says the interrogations led to “life-saving information” for ground troops in Gaza, and the targeting of hundreds of sites belonging to terror groups.

In Lebanon, the Shin Bet says it was involved in the elimination of 25 senior commanders in Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In the West Bank and Jerusalem, the Shin Bet says it foiled 1,040 “significant” terror attacks, including 689 planned shootings, 326 involving explosive devices, 13 stabbings, 9 car-rammings, 2 suicide bombings, and one kidnapping.

The agency says there was a drop of 40% in terror attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem in 2024 compared to the previous year.

The Shin Bet says it was involved in dozens of special operations in the West Bank in the past year with the IDF and police, including 10 to detain a suspect or eliminate a threat. Among the special operations include raids against terror operatives at hospitals in Jenin and Nablus.

Inside Israel proper, the Shin Bet says it carried out hundreds of operations that uncovered 20 terror cells made up of Arab Israelis. Five of the cells planned to carry out terror attacks with explosive devices or car bombs, the agency says.

In the past year, the Shin Bet says that on 32 occasions it dispatched an elite counterterror force, known as a Tequila team — made up of Shin Bet fighters and members of the police’s elite Yamam unit — to foil imminent terror attacks.

The Shin Bet was also involved in three hostage rescue missions in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, as well as several missions to recover the bodies of captives.

The agency releases an audio recording from the first hostage rescue operation of Cpl. Ori Megidish on October 30, 2023.

"Ori, Ori my dear, you are in good hands, the guys rescued you, they are bringing you home. You are amazing and brave, well done. Are you ok?," a Shin Bet agent can be heard saying to Megidish over the radio during her rescue.

"Yes, yes, I'm ok," Megidish can be heard saying in the clip.

Regarding the Iranian threat, the Shin Bet says it recorded a record in the number of detainees in espionage-related affairs, with an increase of 400% compared to 2023.

In the past year, 13 separate incidents of Israelis allegedly spying or carrying out other tasks for Iranian elements were foiled, the Shin Bet says, with a total of 27 indictments filed.

The Shin Bet says it also carried out hundreds of “complex security operations in high-risk areas” this past year, including providing security for Israeli officials visiting the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria. The Shin Bet says it also conducted dozens of security operations abroad, including two special missions, for the Israeli delegation to the Olympics in Paris, France, and the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden.