Fernando Marman, 61, and Louis Har, 70, who were rescued in a complex overnight operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, finally reunited with their family members at Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv.
The two men were abducted by terrorists in Nir Itzhak on October 7 and spent over 128 days in captivity in Gaza.
Their rescue became only the second successful extraction of captives held by the terror group.
The hostages were freed while under the guard of Hamas militants on the second floor of a building in downtown Rafah. During the shootout with the terrorists, one Israeli soldier was lightly injured.
The hostage rescue operation lasted for about an hour. However, gunfire was opened on Israeli troops from neighboring buildings. Air support was employed to neutralize the militants.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip reports approximately 80 killed and 270 injured in Rafah as a result of IDF strikes tonight.
The operation to rescue the hostages involved the Shin Bet and IDF forces, including the Shayetet 13 naval special forces unit, with air support and the 7th Armored Brigade of the 98th Division. The rescued hostages were evacuated by helicopter. The 5515th Special Transport Unit conducted the evacuation.
Defense Minister Yoav Galant highly praised the actions of the IDF soldiers and the Shin Bet personnel involved in the rescue operation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted the men back home. "Fernando and Luis, welcome home. I salute our brave fighters, whose exceptionally courageous actions led to their release. Only continuing military pressure until complete victory will lead to the release of all our kidnapped citizens. We will not miss any opportunity to bring them home," he said.
