Two Home, 134 More to Return

February 13, 2024

by: Kate Norman

Tuesday, 13 February 2024 | Israeli security forces rescued two hostages from the Gaza Strip in a “complex” overnight raid Monday morning.

Fernando Marman, 61, and Louis Har, 70, were rescued by Israeli forces from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and were transported to a hospital near Tel Aviv. They were declared to be in good condition and were reunited with their families after 128 days in captivity.

After months of planning the operation, undercover police counterterrorism units partnered with the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security organization. They stormed the building where the hostages were being held around 1:40 a.m.

The Israeli Air Force [IAF] launched the operation with air strikes in the nearby area to draw attention away from their true focus: rescuing the hostages, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli forces then took the Hamas terrorists in the building and adjacent buildings off guard when they breached the apartment on the second floor where the hostages were being held.

Operatives from Israel’s elite counterterrorism unit, Yamam, shielded the hostages with their bodies during the ensuing gunfight until they were taken to safety, Israel Defense Forces [IDF] Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post.

“This was a complex rescue operation under fire in the heart of Rafah, based on highly sensitive and valuable intelligence from the Intelligence Directorate and the Israel Security Agency,” Hagari said, adding that they have prepared for this operation “for some time.”

The ground forces were given air cover by the IAF, as seen in footage of the operation published by the Shin Bet.

One Israeli soldier was lightly wounded during the operation.

The hostages were safely transported to Israel as the surrounding terrorists—as well as military sites and command centers—were struck with heavy fire from the Israeli Air Force, Ynetnews reported. Hamas terrorists in a vehicle tried to chase the Israeli forces as they left with the rescued hostages, but the Israeli Air Force eliminated the threat.

The operation was overseen from a Shin Bet command center, with Israel’s top brass watching. The head of the Shin Bet, the IDF chief of staff, and several IDF and police chiefs were in the room overseeing the operation, the Times of Israel reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also entered the war room to watch the rescue.

Netanyahu later met with the unit that executed the operation and praised them in a statement released by his office, calling the rescue “one of the most successful rescue operations in the history of the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu noted that in the decisive moment of the operation, “the gap between victory and tragedy is a millimeter.”

He added that the forces “eliminated the abductors, the terrorists, and made your way back without injury—a successful operation, a perfect operation.”

The hostages, Fernando Marman and Louis Har, are two Argentinians who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak near the Gaza boundary on October 7.

Hamas terrorists kidnapped an estimated 240 people on October 7. During a weeklong truce in November, Hamas released 105 of the hostages. Four were released prior to the truce, and some 130 hostages remain, the Times of Israel reported, though some of them are believed to be dead already.

But IDF Spokesman Hagari vowed that they are not forgotten, even amidst the joy of the two rescued hostages.

“Alongside the excitement, even this morning after the successful rescue operation, we do not forget for a moment that in Gaza, 134 hostages are still being held,” Hagari said.

“I want to address you this morning: if you are listening to me, know that we are determined to bring you back home,” Hagari added. “We will not give up any opportunity to bring you back home.”

Posted on February 13, 2024

Source: (Bridges for Peace, February 13, 2024)

Photo Credit: Chenspec/Wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia