This will give hope to the families of those still held in Gaza.
Israel announced this Monday that it had released two hostages in Rafah, the final target of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, where the ruling Hamas reported “around 100 deaths” of Palestinians during this nighttime operation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army to prepare an offensive on Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where most of the population of the Palestinian territory is currently massed, according to the UN, causing concern among the international community.
Hamas warned this Sunday that such an offensive would “torpedo” any agreement for the release of the hostages it still holds in Gaza.
But Israel affirmed that the strikes on the night of Sunday to Monday were not part of the launch of this offensive, but of an operation to recover two hostages kidnapped on October 7 during the unprecedented attack by Hamas fighters. in southern Israel, the starting point of this war.
“In stable condition”
“Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, were recovered during a nighttime operation in Rafah carried out jointly by the Israeli army, Shin Beth (Internal Security) and police,” according to a statement from these three services.
Abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, the two men were taken to the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan for initial medical examinations.
“They are in a stable condition,” Arnon Afek, the director of the establishment, told the press.
Two hostages rescued during a mission last night in Rafah.
During a joint operation between the IDF, the ISA and the Israeli police, 2 Israeli hostages from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak were rescued: Fernando Simon Marman (60 years old) and Louis Har (70 years old).
— Tsahal (@Tsahal_IDF) February 12, 2024
“Three terrorists were killed in the building where they were detained,” according to an initial report from the Israeli army, which had previously limited itself to confirming that it had “carried out a series of raids against terrorist targets in the south of the Gaza strip ".
These strikes hit 14 houses and three mosques in different areas of Rafah, according to the Hamas government.
Around 250 people were kidnapped in Israel on October 7 and taken to Gaza.
A week-long truce in November allowed the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians detained by Israel.
Before the release of the last two hostages, Israel estimated that 132 were still detained in Gaza, of whom 29 were believed to have died.
Rafah has become the last refuge for Palestinians stuck on the closed border with Egypt, numbering 1.4 million according to the UN, the vast majority displaced having fled the war which has been raging for four months.
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US President Joe Biden urged the Israeli Prime Minister, during a telephone interview this Sunday, to “guarantee the security” of the Palestinian population.
Several states have warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the event of an assault on the overcrowded city.
“Victory is within reach,” Benjamin Netanyahu declared on the American channel ABC News, calling Rafah the “last bastion” of Hamas.
Israel will provide “safe passage for the civilian population so that they can leave” the city, he added, without specifying where civilians could take refuge.
“I don’t know where we will go”
“I don't know where we will go” in the event of an offensive on Rafah, testified Farah Mohammad, who fled Gaza City, in the north of the territory.
“There is no place to escape,” says this 39-year-old mother, who has lost all contact with her husband for a month.
"Under current conditions", Washington "could not support a military operation in Rafah due to the density of the population", indicated a senior official of the American administration, stressing that the civilian population has "nowhere where to go ".
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The assault by Hamas fighters in southern Israel on October 7 left more than 1,160 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to “destroy” the Islamist movement, in power in Gaza since 2007, which it considers a “terrorist” organization, along with the United States and the European Union.
The Israeli offensive has left more than 28,000 dead in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.