Israel’s most elite officers used their bodies to shield two hostages as bullets and aerial fire whizzed around them during the dramatic pre-dawn raid that freed the captives in southern Gaza on Sunday.
Argentinian-Israeli citizens Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, were rescued after 129 days in captivity when the IDF, the Israel Security Agency, and the Yamam special police force raided the apartment building where the two men were being held in Rafa.
“From the moment of the breach and entry into the apartment, Yamam forces shielded Louis and Fernando with their bodies, initiating a daring battle and heavy exchanges of fire at several locations simultaneously, with many terrorists,” IDF Spokesperson Rr.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
“By 01:50 a.m., aerial fire was activated by the Israeli Air Force and Southern Command to enable the force’s disengagement and to strike Hamas terrorists in the area,” he added.
Hagari noted that the IDF had known for “some time” that Marman and Har were being held inside the second floor of the apartment complex based on information from the Intelligence Directorate and the Israel Security Agency.
The joint forces, however, held off on the rescue mission until the conditions were right to conduct the overnight raid, Hagari said.
The rescue operation kicked off with several airstrikes aimed at Hamas’ Shabura battalion, which the IDF said was meant to distract the terrorists to keep them from realizing the true goal of the attack, the Jerusalem Post reports.
With the terror group scattered, the joint forces raided the apartment complex, which was being guarded by Hamas gunmen, along with other terrorists stationed in the adjacent building.
At the moment the Israeli forces barged in, they were able to take out three gunmen and rushed the men out of the building and into an armored vehicle.
With members of the Israeli Aerial Force providing cover, the two hostages were safely loaded onto a military helicopter and transported to the Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan, where they were both listed in good condition.
The brother-in-laws were later seen crying as they were reunited with their families, including Marman’s sister and Har’s partner, Clara, who had also been kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak and released back in November.
The men’s family said the two were being held by a family in the Rafah apartment, where they cooked meals for the family while they subsisted mostly on pita bread and white cheese, Ynet News reports.
During their time in captivity, the men were also not allowed to watch the news, so they had no idea about what happened to Clara and their other relatives who had been taken hostage.
Although returning with significant weight loss and pale skin, the men appeared to be in good health, in part because they were able to bond with their captors over their love of soccer, the family said.
The family allegedly asked the men if they were Jewish, with Marman and Har responding that they were “Argentinian,” which triggered the conversations about the sport.
The rescue operation comes just days after Netanyahu met with Argentinian Prime Minister Javier Milei about the hostage situation.
“Fernando and Louis – Welcome back home,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Monday news conference. “I salute our brave fighters for the bold action that led to their liberation.”
“Only the continuation of military pressure until complete victory will result in the release of all our hostages,” he added. “We will not miss any opportunity to bring them home.”
The airstrikes that were used to assist in the rescue of Marman and Har killed at least 94 people in Rafah, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, which is still in the process of identifying the bodies.
It comes after the Palestine Red Crescent Society said more than 100 people had been killed in a series of overnight strikes in the city, where 1.4 million refugees are sheltering after fleeing the war, according to CNN.
While airstrikes continue around Rafah, now Gaza’s most populous city, both the US and the United Kingdom have cautioned Israel not to launch its planned full-scale incursion into the city without a plan to minimize civilian casualties.