It took 129 long days before we finally got good news: In a special and heroic operation, one which will go down in history, the Shin Bet, the Israel Police special counterterrorism unit, and IDF troops rescued two hostages Sunday night – Fernando Marman and Louis Har. They were abducted from Nir Yitzhak on October 7th and held in Rafah. In the operation, one fighter was lightly injured.
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The daring raid was preceded by feverish preparations and multiple simulations, during which the fighters learned the layout of the area got briefed on the latest intelligence, and prepared detailed operational contingency plans for every possible scenario that could emerge. The Shin Bet had intelligence on the whereabouts of Har and Marmam for some time, but the decision-makers waited for optimal intelligence and operational conditions to maximize the chances of success in the crowded Al-Shabura refugee camp.
Once given the go-ahead, Shin Bet combatants and Yamam fighters stealthily approached the target, and at exactly 1:49 AM, the operation got underway. They first silently placed explosives on the locked door to blow it open. As soon as it exploded they charged inside, killing the terrorists guarding the apartment. Gunfire was shot towards them from within the building, as well as from nearby buildings. Some of the fighters ran towards the hostages, who were on the second floor, hugged them, and shielded them, while others continued fighting to secure the area.
At 1:50 AM, one minute after breaching the building, the Israeli Air Force began massive airstrikes to prevent local terrorists from swarming the fighters and hostages and endangering the operation. The IAF created a wide ring of fire around the location, securing the pre-planned corridor for evacuating the hostages.
Under heavy security by Shayetet 13 naval commandos and tanks from the 7th Armored Brigade, the hostages were evacuated in armored vehicles to a waiting helicopter. They underwent initial medical checks and were flown by an Israeli Air Force helicopter with the 669 Search and Rescue Unit medical team to Tel Hashomer Hospital.
Video: Aerial footage of the IDF raid in Rafah / Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Shortly after 2:00 AM, Tel Hashomer Chaim Sheba Medical Center was alerted, and around 3:15 AM the helicopter landed with both men at the helipad. Herr and Marmam's condition was listed as "stable". They met their emotional family members shortly before 5:00 AM who had been rushed to the hospital.
Missed opportunities
This is the second time since the beginning of the war that security forces have succeeded in rescuing living hostages from Gaza. The last time was on October 30th, with the heroic rescue of lookout soldier Ori Magidish, after 23 days in Hamas captivity.
Since the beginning of the war, the defense establishment has constantly tried to find opportunities to rescue hostages by force. Quite a few soldiers have been sent into harm's way and even injured themselves on rescue operations. However given that the hostages are scattered across many locations above and below ground level and under strict supervision with explosives, successes have been few. On more than a few occasions over the past four months, the defense establishment had real-time information about hostage locations, but they were not rescued because the risks outweighed the benefits, and it was determined that the chances of success were low.
The courage in the rescue operation was not only on the part of the combatants executing it, but also the top political leaders – the prime minister and defense minister, and in the operational echelon – IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar – who approved a dangerous operation where everything could have gone terrible wrong. If heaven forbid, the operation had failed, Israeli society would have woken up to an awful mourning, similar to the day when the three hostages were killed by our forces' after they had tried to approach the fighters and were accidentally identified as terrorists.
Despite justified euphoria among the Israeli public, let's not forget that it won't be simple to recreate the great success of last night, since Hamas will likely learn lessons and examine how the information on its prized captives was compromised by the Israeli spooks; it will likely boost security around the 134 additional hostages. We can hope that the IDF will have additional pinpointed successes like this operation but it is more reasonable to assume that the absolute majority will not be rescued by force alone, and Israel will need to find another way to release them.
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