Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday (Feb 12) released footage that showed parts of the rescue of two Israeli hostages from a site in Gaza. The Israeli forces rescued these hostages early on Monday as they stormed an apartment in Gaza amid the airstrikes that were carried out to cover the operation.
More than 60 Palestinians were killed in these airstrikes during the rescue operation.
This is only the second time that Israel has successfully freed hostages, the first time it happened was during a brief ceasefire between the state of Israel and Hamas on November 24, 2023.
The Israeli government says that 134 people are still held as hostages in the Gaza Strip since October 7 when Hamas launched a deadly assault on southern Israel that killed about 1200 people, mostly Israeli citizens.
The consequent state of war in Gaza has killed over 28,000 Palestinians while pushing the region into deep turmoil after the proxy armed groups also launched various attacks on Israel and US assets in purported solidarity with the Palestinians.
What does the IDF footage show?
The video of the rescue operation showed Israeli special forces coming under fire in Gaze as they made their way towards what appears to be a makeshift helipad after securing the two hostages.
The rescue operation spread a rare wave of relief in Israel where the uproar continues to grow to ensure that all hostages held by Hamas are freed.
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“The hostages are in our hands. There is gunfire against the force,” an Israeli officer can be heard as saying.
Footage showed Israeli commandos asking the just-resued hostages how they were.
“In shock,” one replied.
“The hostages are in our hands, safe and sound”
🔴WATCH the moment hostages Fernando Simon Marman and Luis Har were rescued during the operation in Rafah yesterday: pic.twitter.com/1OXsHf9F9W
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 12, 2024
“Do you feel good?” an officer asked Har, who responded: “Excellent.”
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper quoted a commander from the elite Yamam unit as saying that the two hostages were taken out of the building using ropes to avoid detection on the street outside.
They were driven into armored vehicles to a helipad deep inside Gaza.
The Times of Israel reported that the rescued hostages were then transferred to a military helicopter that brought them inside Israel. The entire operation was wrapped up in less than an hour.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
