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Posters of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas, including the now freed Louis Hare
Photo: Susana Vera / REUTERS
Israel's military has succeeded in freeing Hamas hostages from the Gaza Strip for only the second time. To this end, the army attacked the city of Rafah in the south of the area, and Hamas reported numerous deaths. The first details about the rescue operation have now become known.
The operation began shortly before 2 a.m. on Monday night with heavy air strikes on several targets in the south of the Gaza Strip. As a result, the police, domestic secret service and army worked together to free 70-year-old Louis Norberto Har and 60-year-old Fernando Marman. They are already in Israel and are currently being examined at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv. According to doctors, they are in good health. They were also able to meet their families.
The son-in-law of one of those freed told Israeli media that the family received the message that night and the four adult children went straight to the hospital. Despite being held hostage for more than four months, the 70-year-old Har is in comparatively good condition; he just looks a bit thin and pale. "He's a little shocked by all the hustle and bustle," the son-in-law told the Israeli broadcaster Kan in front of the Shiba Hospital near Tel Aviv. After their liberation, the men were taken there by helicopter. "He didn't tell so much about what happened to him and wanted to know how we were doing, the children and the grandchildren." He also remembered the birthdays of all the relatives.
The Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian posted a photo of the two freed hostages with their relatives on X (formerly Twitter).
Before Har and Marman, both Israeli-Argentine citizens, Israel had only been able to free one hostage - right at the beginning of the war four months ago. Further attempts at liberation were unsuccessful. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said early in the morning that the units had now carried out "a professional and accurate operation." Soldiers physically shielded the two hostages with their own bodies during the attack. They then evacuated the men from the apartment under fire. “It was an operation that we prepared for and waited for the right circumstances,” said Hagari.
Rescue operation in the refugee camp
Har and Marman were most recently held captive on the second floor of a house in Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah. According to the Israeli army, the soldiers killed at least three of their guards during the attack. They had blown open the door to the hostages' hiding place. Palestinian sources had previously said there had been dozens of deaths in air strikes and firefights in the area overnight. In Shaboura, the houses are often only a few meters apart. This may have made the operation even more complicated.
Hamas said on Monday that around 100 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Rafah. The attacks hit 14 houses and three mosques in different parts of the city, the Palestinian Islamist organization's health ministry said. In a previous report, the number of deaths was given as 50.
According to IDF spokesman Hagari, in the end it was fighters from the Jamam elite unit of the border police who broke into the apartment in Shaboura shortly before 2 a.m. Their relatives specialize in combating terrorism and rescuing hostages.
IDF Chief of General Staff Herzl Halevi, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Police Director Kobi Shabtai followed and commanded the operation in real time, Hagari said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were also present in the command room. Gallant subsequently celebrated the "impressive" rescue operation in a post on We will continue to fulfill our obligation to return the hostages, no matter what means." Argentina's President Javier Milei, who visited Israel just a few days ago, thanked the Israeli armed forces.
According to United Nations estimates, there are currently almost one and a half million people in Rafah. Before the war, the city in the far south of the Gaza Strip had only 280,000 residents. Internally displaced people have set up tents everywhere. Your care is catastrophic. People suffer from hunger and epidemics. Aid workers warn of a humanitarian disaster in the event of an Israeli offensive in Rafah.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized again in an interview broadcast on Sunday that they now wanted to move into the very south: "We will take the remaining Hamas terror battalions and the last bastion of Rafah." At the same time, he assured the US broadcaster ABC News agreed that the Israeli army wanted to give the civilian population “a safe way out of the city.” According to the White House, US President Joe Biden recently warned the Israelis not to carry out an offensive in Rafah without a "credible and feasible" plan. Many Israeli analysts and international observers believe that a cautious approach is impossible. There is a lack of open space and infrastructure for the people who are already suffering.
According to Israeli information, around 1,160 people were brutally killed and 250 were kidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip during the attack on Israel on October 7th by Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the USA. Before the two hostages were freed on Monday, Israel estimated that 132 hostages were still being held in Gaza, meaning 29 were dead.
In response to the brutal attack by Hamas, Israel has announced its destruction. According to Hamas' latest figures, more than 28,000 people were killed in the massive military operation in the Gaza Strip. The figures cannot be independently verified, but are considered credible by international organizations.
col/ths/AFP/dpa