After Israeli forces broke into a closely guarded flat in the Gaza Strip, two captives were freed, as seen in a video that Israel released late on Monday.
The footage, which was posted on Israel’s official X account, shows Shayetet 13 troops greeting the freed hostages for the first time before they were flown by helicopter to a hospital.
“Good to see you again. How are all of you doing? What state are you in?” Asks one of the soldiers.
“Amazed, amazed, fine,” replies one of the liberated captives.
The individuals that were saved were identified by the army as Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, who were kidnapped on October 7 from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. They are citizens of Argentina as well. Only three hostages have been freed thus far; in November, a female soldier was freed.
Idan Begerano, Har’s son-in-law, observed the freed hostages at the hospital where they were evacuated, and reported that although the two men seemed emaciated and pale, they were cognizant of their surroundings and were able to communicate.
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Begerano claimed that as soon as Har saw him, he said, “You have a birthday today, mazal tov.” In a video published by the staff of the hospital, the men shared long, emotional embraces with their relatives.
The rescue took place in the midst of an airstrike that occurred during the night on the 1.4 million-person southern town of Rafah, the majority of whom had evacuated their homes elsewhere in Gaza to avoid fighting.
According to Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, special troops entered a Rafah residence under fire at 1:49 a.m. on Monday. A minute later, nearby sites were the target of airstrikes. He said that the hostages were being held captive by Hamas terrorists and that rescue team members were using their bodies as a shield when the fighting broke out.
