Israel killed at least 274 Palestinians during a raid on central Gaza's Nuesirat that saw four hostages rescued on Saturday.

The Israeli military said Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were pulled out in a "complex" mission.

It released footage and images of them being extracted by helicopter and then reuniting with loved ones in emotional scenes at a Tel Aviv hospital.

In Nuseirat, where the hostages were reportedly being held, Palestinians described coming under intense bombardment and heavy gunfire.

The hostages are among seven that Israeli forces have freed alive since Palestinian resistance members seized 251 people in their Oct. 7 incursion of southern Israel.

There are now 116 hostages remaining in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead.

'Horror must stop'

News of the freed captives was met with celebrations and cheers in Israel, while anxieties over the fate of the remaining hostages prompted thousands to gather in Tel Aviv demanding an end to the eight-month-old war.

"They won't be able to release all of them in a military operation," said Michael Levy, whose brother Or is still being held.

Near Nuseirat on Saturday, an AFP photographer saw scores of Palestinians running for cover in fear of further Israeli strikes.

After the operation, piles of smoldering rubble and chunks of concrete clogged the streets.

The Gazan media office confirmed Sunday that the number of victims from the Israeli occupation's massacre in the Nuseirat camp has risen to 274 and more than 400 wounded.

Israeli, meanwhile police said an officer was mortally wounded during the rescue operation.

Nuseirat resident Khalil al-Tahrawi described hearing gun battles and shelling from his shelter.

"The Israeli warplanes began bombing us in all directions to cover up the withdrawal process," he said.

The operation came days after an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat school run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which a Gaza hospital said had killed 40 people.

UNRWA condemned Israel for striking a facility it said had been housing 6,000 displaced people.

Israel accuses Hamas and its allies in Gaza of using civilian infrastructure, including U.N.-run facilities, as operational centers, charges the resistance groups deny.

The war has brought widespread devastation to Gaza, with one in 20 people dead or wounded, according to the Hamas-run territory's Health Ministry. Most of Gaza's 2.4 million inhabitants are displaced.

Aid groups and the United Nations have also accused Israel of blocking or delaying the entry of food, water, medicines and fuel into Gaza, depriving people of lifesaving supplies.

Israel has blamed shortages on aid agencies' inability to distribute supplies.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said on Saturday that 135 UNRWA workers have died in the war, the highest number of U.N. personnel killed in a single conflict.

"This horror must stop," he said.

Cease-fire 'essential'

U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated his call for a cease-fire while welcoming news of Israel's freed hostages.

"We won't stop working until all the hostages are home and a cease-fire is reached. That's essential to happen," he said.

He was speaking in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, who said: "We rejoice at the release of the four Israeli hostages."

Israel, however, faces growing diplomatic isolation, with international court cases accusing it of war crimes and several European countries recognizing a Palestinian state.

Thousands of people marched through London on Saturday calling for a cease-fire, while demonstrators outside the White House protested against Washington's support for Israel amid Gaza's deadliest-ever war.

The Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 36,801 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the territory's Health Ministry.

Efforts to mediate the first cease-fire in the conflict since a weeklong pause in November appear to have stalled after Biden offered the latest plan for a multi-phase truce and hostage release.

Major sticking points include Hamas insisting on a permanent truce and full Israeli withdrawal from all parts of Gaza – demands Israel has rejected.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also faces pressure from within his government to end the war, with war cabinet minister Benny Gantz threatening to quit.

Gantz canceled a news conference scheduled for Saturday where Israeli media had speculated he would announce his resignation.

In brief remarks on Israeli television, Gantz on Saturday evening urged his colleagues in government to "look responsibly" into "how we can continue from here."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called on Hamas to accept the latest truce proposal outlined by Biden at the start of the month.

"The only thing standing in the way of achieving this cease-fire is Hamas. It is time for them to accept the deal," he said.

Blinken is set to visit Israel and key regional partners Egypt, Jordan and Qatar from Monday.