2024-02-12 17:44:45
Israeli special forces stormed a building in the center of the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip and, after a fierce shootout, freed two hostages held by Hamas fighters, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said today, quoted by DPA.
These are the first civilian hostages freed by Israeli soldiers since the mass killings by Hamas terrorists and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7 last year, when 1,200 people were killed and about 240 were taken hostage.
Hagari said the operation to rescue the two hostages, men in their 60s and 70s, had been in preparation for some time and had been waiting for an opportune moment. “This was a complex rescue operation under fire in the heart of Rafah, based on highly sensitive and valuable intelligence,” added the spokesman on his Telegram account.
A minute after the building was stormed, Israel’s air force struck the Rafah area to allow the military to withdraw with the rescued hostages.
There is conflicting information, which cannot be independently verified, about the number of casualties in the operation. According to the Hamas-controlled health authorities in the Gaza Strip, 67 people were killed and 160 wounded, while local media reported 52 dead.
The two hostages are in “good health and have been transferred for medical examinations to Tel Hashomer hospital in the city of Sheba,” the IDF representative said. According to Hagari, 134 people are still being held hostage in Gaza, although Israeli sources say about 30 are no longer alive.
The rescue operation took place while Israel was preparing a ground offensive in Rafah, located on the border with Egypt, writes BTA.