Rescued hostages Norberto Louis Har (L) and Fernando Simon Marman (courtesy of the families)
In a daring raid. the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) rescued two Israeli hostages who were held captive in Rafah in Gaza: Louis Har (70) and Fernando Simon Marman (60). The two, Argentinians by birth who live in Israel, were kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7.
The two were freed in a special operation carried out by the IDF together with Israel Police special forces when intelligence was provided as to their location.
At 1:49 AM local time, Israeli forces reached the building where the two were being held captive. Before this, the IDF launched several airstrikes in Rafah as a diversion for the rescue operation.
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The Israeli forces came down from the roof and entered the building after detonating an explosive device in order to breach its second floor and killed the Hamas terrorists there.
Rafah is on the southernmost end of Gaza on the border with Egypt.
There has been some debate in recent days as to whether Israeli forces should enter the area.
Argentine President Javier Milei personally congratulated Israel on the operation posting on Twitter, “The Office of the President thanks the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police for having successfully completed the rescue of the Argentines Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har.”
Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak was devastated in the October 7 attack and its surviving residents have been forced to live in hotels far away from home since then.
The Kibbutz, however, was still able to issue an official statement on the rescue saying, “How good to see you again! The two were kidnapped from the home of Clara, a kibbutz member, along with their family members. Clara and the family members were released, and have been fighting for the release of Luis and Fernando ever since. Today we woke up to the exciting news of their return. Many thanks to the security forces! We hope and wish for the quick and safe release of the rest of the abductees”
After their release, the two former hostages were sent to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv for treatment.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari described the rescue as a “complex rescue operation under fire in the heart of Rafah, based on very sensitive and high-quality intelligence.”
“This is an operation that we have been preparing for some time,” he added, “the necessary preparations were made and we were waiting for the conditions that will allow it to be put into operation.”
