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Two Hostages Rescued in Gaza During Daring Rafah Operation
Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Hare, two Israeli hostages who, according to the Israeli military, were freed in a special forces operation in Rafah, Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, reunite with loved ones at the Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan, Israel, February 12, 2024, in this still image obtained from a video. Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
Israelis celebrated the daring rescue operation in the Rafah section of Gaza that brought home two elderly hostages on Monday. “‘You have no greater mitzvah than redeeming captives’ (Rambam).
The IDF announced the rescue of 70 year old Norberto Louis Har and 61 year old Fernando Simon Marman early Monday morning in what was detailed to be a risky but successful operation. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, who serves as the IDF Spokesman, detailed the operation, whereby members of Israel’s elite Yamam unit, the Shin Bet, and the IDF entered the densely populated Rafah city in southern Gaza.
Arriving at 1 am, they entered a building and headed to “the second floor where the hostages were held,” according to Hagari. After killing a number of terrorists, they took the hostages, taking them to a safe area where they were airlifted to Israel. During the operation troops were given “intense firepower from the air. Fire was opened from nearby buildings. The Air Force struck intensively there.”
According to the IDF, no soldiers were killed during the rescue operation while the Hamas-run Health Ministry which does not distinguish between civilians and terrorists claimed that over 100 Palestinians were killed.
“Fernando and Louis – welcome home. I salute our brave warriors for the bold action that led to their liberation. Only the continuation of military pressure, until complete victory, will result in the release of all our abductees,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We will not miss any opportunity to bring them home.”
The rescued hostages were brought to Sheba Medical Center in central Israel where they were checked and reunited with their families.
The niece of Fernando, Gefen Sigal Ilan, told Israeli media “They came back pale and thin, they haven’t seen sunlight for four months and it shows on them. They both really like good food, so little by little they will get back to enjoying it.”
The father of Eldor said on Monday “No soldier who was kidnapped, no hostage, and no victim of this horror must be in vain. It’s time to bring them all back, we can’t abandon them.”
The operation in the Rafah area is the first public entry by Israeli forces into the southernmost portion of the Gaza Strip, where an estimated 1.5 million Gazans are sheltering after being evacuated from their homes elsewhere in the Strip. Despite the mass of Gazans in Rafah, bordering Egypt, the neighboring Arab states, and Western governments have refused to let any refugees leave the coastal enclave. Objections to operations in Rafah have come from them all, including US President Joe Biden who told Netanyahu in a phone call on Sunday that the IDF should not enter Rafah without proper plans to protect civilians.
Similarly, British Foreign Minister David Cameron said he is “deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive” in Rafah. European Foreign Minister Joseph Borrell also said an operation would result in a “unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe.”
Netanyahu has been firm in pushing Israel’s need to enter Rafah, known as a Hamas stronghold and the last part of the Strip where they have in-tact military battalions. Additionally, it is thought that Hamas leadership is hiding in tunnels beneath Rafah. Netanyahu told ABC News on Sunday, “We’re going to do it. We’re going to get the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, which is the last bastion.”
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
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