Israeli security forces announced Monday morning that they had freed two hostages held in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, in the second known such rescue in Gaza since the start of the war. Officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed dozens of Palestinians in the city overnight.
The hosts, Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, were undergoing tests at a hospital near Tel Aviv and were both in good condition, according to a joint statement from the Israeli army, police and the internal security agency, Shin. Beth.
“Fernando and Louis, welcome home,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “I salute our courageous fighters for the bold action that led to their release.”
Mr Netanyahu’s office said Mr Marman and Mr Har both had dual Israeli and Argentine nationalities. They were among more than 240 people captured in the October 7 surprise raid on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups. Israel said it launched attacks in Rafah to cover rescue operations.
The two men, looking gaunt but visibly injured, cried and embraced family members who came to meet them at the Sheba Medical Center, according to a video released by the Israeli army.
Mr. Har was pale and “a little in shock,” according to Idan Berjerano, his son-in-law, who visited him and spoke to the Israeli public broadcaster.
The Israeli military said Mr. Marman and Mr. Har were kidnapped from the same house in Nir Yitzhak, a kibbutz near the border with Gaza. They were taken hostage along with other family members, including Clara Marman, Mr. Marman’s sister and Mr. Har’s partner. Ms. Marman and other members of her family were released in November as part of a week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
An Israeli news site, Ynet, reported that the two men told their captors that they were Argentinian and tried to strike up a conversation by talking about football.
The rescue was the main story in Israeli media, but the public reaction seemed more muted than in November, when around 100 hostages were freed during the ceasefire. This appears in part to reflect the fact that more than 100 people remained in captivity.
“Not stopping until they all go home,” said the Bring Them Home Now organization, which is campaigning for the release of the hostages. said in a post on social media.
Last week, the New York Times reported that Israeli intelligence officials had concluded that at least 30 of the remaining 136 hostages had died since the start of the war.
Before Monday, Israeli forces said they had rescued at least one hostage, soldier Ori Megidish, who was freed during a military operation in October. But the army has given few details about this operation.
In December, the Israeli military said its forces mistakenly killed three hostages in Gaza who were waving a makeshift white flag.
While military analysts say rescue operations are not the path forward to freeing most of the captives, families of the hostages have pressured Israel to prioritize negotiations for their release. Last week, Mr. Netanyahu publicly rejected Hamas’ latest proposal for a new pause in fighting that would allow the release of some of the hostages held by the militants. But Israeli officials also indicated that their government was still open to negotiation.
Asked in a television interview Sunday with ABC News how many hostages were still alive, Mr. Netanyahu replied: “Enough to justify the kind of efforts we are making.”
Argentine President Javier Milei – who last week made his first state visit to Israel as president – thanked the Israeli army for rescuing the two men. In a report On Monday, Mr. Milei’s office said he had raised the issue of the Argentine hostages during his meetings with Israeli leaders.
The report was provided by Gabby Sobelman, Myra Noveck And Cassandra Vinograd.
