War of Iron Swords: It was allowed to be published that in a joint operation by the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police (YMM) in Rafah, two Israeli hostages were rescued tonight (between Sunday and Monday). Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Lewis Hr (70) who were kidnapped by Hamas to the Gaza Strip from Nir Yitzhak on Black Sabbath, October 7. The condition of the two is good and they were taken for medical tests at the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center.
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IDF spokesman, Brig Daniel Hagariupdated the details of the operation: “Tonight we carried out a successful rescue operation in which we rescued Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har who were kidnapped from Nir Yitzhak (the Leimberg-Har family). They are in good condition. They are currently undergoing medical tests at Sheba Hospital. Both were held by Hamas in Rafah. The operation was managed by the Shin Bet’s Special Operations Command and was carried out by IMM fighters and the Shin Bet’s operational unit.
A short time ago, the spokesman for the IDF Daniel Hagari made a special statement, referring to the dramatic rescue: “We rescued Louis Har and Fernando who were kidnapped on October 7 in Nir Yitzhak. This is a complex operation under fire in Rafah based on sensitive intelligence of the Intelligence Division and the Shin Bet, the police’s anti-aircraft unit, the Southern Command, Sheyat 13, in a professional and precise operation, there was an air shell accompanied by a broad wave of air force attacks, this is an operation we have been preparing for for some time, we are waiting for the conditions that will allow us to carry it out.”
He also added that “early this morning at 1:49 the special forces broke into a building in the heart of Rafah, where on the second floor Luis and Fernando were held by armed Hamas terrorists who were in the building and terrorists who were in the nearby buildings. At the moment of the break-in, the IDF fighters protected Luis and Fernando with their bodies and a heavy exchange of fire began in a number of hotspots with many terrorists.”
IDF forces in Gaza (photo: IDF spokesperson)
He told about the heavy fire that was opened at the soldiers: “A shell of aerial fire began to operate, which was managed to allow the force to cut off contact and hit the Hamas terrorists in the area. At this stage, the fighters pull out the abductees and rescue them under fire accompanied by IDF forces who give them protection in the area until they arrive to the safe zone, where they underwent an initial examination and were flown to Sheba in Tel Hashomer, where they met their families with great excitement.
I want to address the abductees this morning, if you can hear me now, know that we are very determined to return you home and we will not miss any opportunity to bring you home. We will continue every effort to return all the abductees home.”
Defense Minister Yoav Galant: “In an impressive rescue operation, the security forces managed to return to Israel tonight Fernando Marman and Louis Har, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. Together with the Prime Minister and the senior command, I followed the operation from the PAK – full appreciation for the IDF forces, the Shin Bet and the Israel Defense Forces for an important action and a quality performance. We will continue to realize our commitment to return the abducted, in any way.”
Luis Herr (photo: headquarters of the families of the kidnapped and missing persons) Fernando Simon Marman (photo: headquarters of the families of the kidnapped and missing persons)
Age of Jarno Louis’ son-in-law: “We met, hugged and we can start the day. Right now he hasn’t told, surrounded by family, children. Breathing deeply, smiling and still not telling, little by little. Louis looks young, he’s 70 years old, he celebrated his birthday in captivity. All in all They look perfectly fine from what we were able to see in the first moments and we are in the thick of it.”
“Of course we waited and missed him, he worried about us more than we worried about him it turns out. Both of them show optimism and it warms the heart. I wish we would hear the details but we don’t know those details yet either, everything happened right now.”
The Sheba Medical Center stated: “This morning, two Israeli abductees who were freed by our forces from the Gaza Strip arrived at the Sheba Medical Center. After an initial medical examination, the condition of the two is determined to be good and they are now staying in a designated compound. These are sensitive moments for the families and for those returning to Israel. their privacy and their dignity. We are happy for their return home and wish for the return of all the abductees.”
Dr. Yael Frankel-Nir, the deputy director of the Sheba Medical Center, added in a statement at the hospital that “Their condition looks good. We are in a preliminary assessment of their condition and given the prolonged captivity, we expect more tests in the next two days, but we are with multidisciplinary teams, both medical and psychosocial, their families are with them around them and we will accompany them later. We also have experience from the previous rounds. We and they were very happy to meet, we will appreciate them and accompany them in the coming hours and days. Very excited, I’m sure they and I won’t forget this night either.’
Dr. Yael Frankel-Nir. Credit: Dobrot Sheba (Photo: Dobrot Sheba)
Fernando Simon Marman and Luis Harr were kidnapped on Black Sabbath from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak along with three other family members who had already returned to Israel as part of the kidnap deal at the end of last November: Luis’ partner and Fernando’s sister Clara Marman, her sister Gabriela Leimberg, and Gabriela Mia’s daughter. The image of a freed Mia with her dog became one of the symbols of the kidnap deal. They all hid in MMD on 7.10 and were kidnapped from it to Gaza.
Mia Leimberg is released (Photo: Arab Networks)