The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) claimed that it successfully rescued two hostages following a special operation in Rafah, a city in Gaza.
The Monday announcement marks the second time since the Hamas terrorist group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack that the IDF conducted a successful operation to free captives. Another such operation that was conducted two months ago failed.
Officials from the IDF said that the latest operation took place at around 1:00 a.m. local time. It reportedly involved forces from the Shin Bet special operations unit, the Israeli police counterterrorism unit, and IDF navy seals.
The forces arrived at a building located in the heart of Rafah where the two hostages were being held by the militant group. A spokesperson for the IDF said during a briefing that the troops managed to covertly reach the building and reach the second floor, blow up the door of the apartment, and kill the three militants who were guarding the two hostages, as per Axios.
The spokesperson also noted that the two captives, who were identified as 60-year-old Fernando Merman and 70-year-old Luis Har, were evacuated inside a helicopter to a hospital inside Israel. They noted that they were both in good medical condition following the rescue operation.
The IDF and Shin Bet had been working on the operation for the past few weeks based on intelligence information. A senior IDF official said that operational opportunity came overnight on Sunday into Monday.
The official also said that the Israeli Air Force conducted heavy strikes in Rafah as a diversion to allow the special operation to extract the two hostages. On the other hand, the Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza reported that the air strikes killed dozens of Palestinians.
Palestinians Killed in Air Strikes
The air strikes also came a few hours after United States President Joe Biden stressed during a weekend phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there should be no military operation in Rafah unless there were plans in place to protect civilians, according to the Washington Post.
The Middle Eastern country is facing mounting pressure from allies and neighbors to stop plans for what it described as a massive operation in the region. In a statement that was posted on Monday on Telegram, the IDF said that it conducted a series of strikes on terror targets in the area of Shaboura in the southern Gaza Strip.
A program officer for Project Hope, Motaz al Aaaraj, said that they woke up to the sounds of very violent bombardment from warplanes, helicopters, and artillery in various places. In an interview, the Israeli prime minister referred vaguely to "plenty of areas" north of the city when he was asked where Palestinian civilians were staying in Rafah.
The situation comes as more than a million displaced Palestinians are seeking shelter in Rafah, which is located on the border with Egypt. Following failed ceasefire talks, Netanyahu said that Israeli forces would fight on until "total victory" against the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, said WION.
