INSIDE DARING RESCUE
Commandos shielded hostage duo
Israel’s most elite officers used their bodies to shield two hostages as bullets whizzed around them during the dramatic predawn 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 Rafah.
“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,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear 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.
Intel for ‘some time’
Hagari noted that the IDF had known for “some time” that Marman and Har were being held on 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 were meant to distract the terrorists to keep them from realizing the true goal of the attack, The Jerusalem Post reported.
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 Air 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 listed in good condition.
Tearful reunion
After being rescued, a heartwarming video captured the moment the two hostages were tearfully reunited with their loved ones.
Marman and Har were seen embracing relatives at the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center after their rescue Sunday. Marman appears to be overcome with tears as relatives wrap their arms around him, with both men and their loved ones continually wiping tears from their faces.