IDF soldiers rescue Fernando Marman and Luis Har
(Video: Police Spokesperson)
The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday evening released footage from soldiers' body cameras documenting the battles conducted by security force outside the building where hostages Fernando Marman and Luis Har were being held, just before their dramatic rescue from Hamas captivity in Rafah. Major General Y., who oversaw the break-in force in the operation, proudly said: "We brought them home safely."
Read more:
The National Counter Terrorism Unit of the Israel Border Police stated that "during the complex rescue operation, heavy fire was opened toward the soldiers and toward the location of the hostages from inside the building and from nearby buildings. In a professional and sharp response, the IDF soldiers responded and returned fire in the framework of which the terrorists were eliminated, this at the same time that the IDF soldiers protected the hostages with their bodies until they brought them home safely."
3 View gallery
National Counter-Terrorism Unit forces during the hostage rescue on Rafah
(Photo: Police Spokesperson)
"Last night, based on intelligence information, we prepared together with our partners from the Shin Bet, the Shayetet, the Mobility Unit and the 7th Brigade, in order to rescue hostages from the area of the city of Rafah," said Major General Y., deputy platoon commander in the National Counter-Terrorism Unit who commanded a force in the rescue operation.
"When we arrived at the location, we broke in and encountered heavy resistance, massive shooting from inside the house and from the periphery. We returned fire and eliminated the terrorists. While breaking in, we located the hostages and rescued them from the building. After that, we removed them from the area, while we were dealing with resistance from the periphery, and protecting the lives of the hostages until we returned them home safely."
3 View gallery
The family of Fernando Marman and Luis Har are reunited with them after they were rescued from Gaza at Sheba Hospital
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In a visit he made with the soldiers on Monday, the Commissioner of the Police, Chief Superintendent Yaakov Shabtai, said: "We have a General Security Service that the State of Israel can be proud of. Without the precise intelligence and close escort of the General Security Service, this operation would have been much more complex. From the commander of the unit to the last of the soldiers, it is simply national pride that we have such fighters. The combination between the security service, the IDF and the Shin Bet results in such a heroic operation, the details of which I assume may be revealed at some stage. I called it Operation Entebbe - only without the planes. This is my opportunity to say thank you, because even having the courage to approve such an operation is not an easy thing."
The commander of the Border Police Guard, Brigadier General Yitzchak, also praised the fighters and said: "Our slogan at the Border Guard is that we are the protective wall of the State of Israel - so these are the tip of the spear. They proved it on October 7 and they proved it yesterday."