Hostages and missing families
Two hostages, Fernando Simon Mallman (60 years old) and Louis Ha (70 years old), were rescued from Gaza by the Israeli military.
CNN
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The Israeli military announced on Monday that it had rescued two hostages in a special operation carried out overnight in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israeli airstrikes continued throughout the night.
The hostages are 60-year-old Fernando Simon Marman and 70-year-old Louis Ha, both of whom were captured 128 days earlier in Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.
The Israeli Defense Forces said the two were in good health and were transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer. The operation was said to be carried out jointly with the Israeli Security Service and the Israeli Police.
IDF spokesman Danial Hagari told reporters on Monday that the “covert operation with an evacuation under fire” began at 1:49 a.m. local time, followed by an airstrike. .
He said Israeli forces encountered resistance and the hostages were escorted under Hamas artillery fire before being taken to a safe location inside Rafah for medical treatment. They were then airlifted from Gaza by helicopter.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant praised the “impressive release operation” in a statement to X (formerly Twitter) and said he observed the operation at the headquarters with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior commanders.
It added that both hostages were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. Nir Yitzhak is one of several kibbutzim near the Gaza border that came under attack by Hamas militants during the October 7 riots, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 were taken hostage. It is one.
Israel's response caused widespread devastation across Gaza. The Gaza Ministry of Health, which is controlled by Hamas, announced that the cumulative death toll since October 7 has reached more than 27,500.
Hatem Ali/AP
A Palestinian walks in front of a house destroyed in an Israeli attack in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on February 11, 2024.
News of the hostage release comes as Mr Rafah is under attack by Israeli forces. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Monday that overnight airstrikes in Rafah killed more than 100 people, with many more trapped under rubble and the toll could rise further. did.
CNN cannot independently verify the numbers. PRCS previously said the city was experiencing “intense targeting”.
The city of Rafah announced on Monday that at least two mosques and about a dozen houses were targeted in the strike.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Monday that it had carried out a “series of attacks” against targets in the Shaboula area of Rafah District in the southern Gaza Strip.
“The attack has ended,” the IDF said in a statement.
Hamas on Monday denounced the strike as an “attempt to forcibly relocate” and “a horrific massacre of defenseless civilians and displaced children, women and the elderly.”
He also accused US President Joe Biden and his administration of taking “full responsibility” for the civilian deaths.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu on Sunday discussed an agreement to secure the release of hostages in Gaza and an expected Israeli ground offensive on Rafah, a senior administration official said.
“Military operations in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and workable plan to ensure the safety and support of the more than 1 million people sheltered there,” Biden said, according to the White House. I reaffirmed that view.”
Rafah has become the last refuge for Palestinians who have fled south to avoid Israeli air and ground operations in the remaining areas of the crowded enclave. More than 1.3 million people are estimated to live in Rafah, the majority of whom have fled from other parts of Gaza, according to the United Nations.
And they have no escape route left. The city shares a border with Egypt, and the only border to the country has been closed for several months, along with other borders in Gaza.
With international alarm mounting ahead of an expected ground attack on Rafah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said calls to stop entering Rafah were like telling Israel to lose the war, and warned against the plan. He rejected the mounting criticism. He promised to provide safe passage for civilians, but gave few details.
