After 129 days of captivity, they will be able to reunite with their loved ones.
Two Hamas hostages were released this Sunday, February 11 during a special operation by the Israeli army, the IDF announced on the night of Sunday to Monday.
Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Luis Har, 70, were kidnapped on October 7 during Hamas attacks on Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel.
The two Israeli-Argentinian brothers-in-law were kidnapped alongside three other members of their family.
Clara, Gabriela and Mia were released on November 28 after 53 days of detention, as part of the agreement between Israel and Hamas under the aegis of Qatar, which allowed the release of around a hundred hostages, mainly women and children.
The whole family finally freed
The entire Marman siblings were kidnapped during the attacks: Clara (62 years old), Fernando (60 years old) and Gabriela (59 years old).
To these three hostages were added Luis (70 years old), Clara's partner, and Mia (17 years old), Gabriela's daughter.
She was the one who managed to keep her dog Bella in captivity and took her with her when she was freed.
The family was gathered at Clara and Luis's house for the Sukkot holidays, while Fernando lived the rest of the time at Kibbutz Kfar Saba and Gabriela and Mia in Jerusalem.
The terrorists attacked their house on the morning of October 7.
The five members of the family then took refuge in the secure room of the building by blocking the door with a chair.
But that wasn't enough and they were each taken away.
The house was found empty around 4 p.m. when the Israeli army arrived.
Fernando Marman came to Israel from Argentina decades ago with his two other sisters.
Now aged 60, before his kidnapping he was employed in a furniture and decoration store.
Luis Har is the father of four children and grandfather of ten.
His family had emigrated to Israel in 1971, also from Argentina.
The septuagenarian had just retired after having worked as an accountant all his life, while his partner still works as a nursery school teacher.
Shortly before his kidnapping, Luis had sent a final text message to his daughter in which he said: “They are breaking down the door, they are breaking everything.”
An operation “in the heart of Rafah”
During a press conference this Monday morning, the spokesperson for the Israeli army clarified that this operation had been prepared “for some time”.
“Early in the morning, at 1:49 a.m.
(Israeli time)
, special forces burst into a building in the heart of Rafah,” he added, specifying that there had been “air cover” with “a wave of strikes by the Israeli Air Force.
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According to him, the two hostages were on the second floor.
Israeli soldiers reportedly protected them “with their bodies” during the exfiltration, which “triggered a daring battle and fierce exchanges of fire” in “several locations.”
The two men were airlifted to Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, where they arrived around 3:15 a.m.
The Argentine presidential office also welcomed this news on X (formerly Twitter) and thanked the Israeli army.
Newly elected President Javier Milei made a trip to Israel in early February during which he insisted to Benjamin Netanyahu that the two men be released as quickly as possible.
The Office of the President accepts the Israeli Defense Forces, and Shabak and the Israeli Police culminate with the rescue of the Argentinians Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Louis Har (70), who were sequestered by the 7th of October by the group…
— Oficina del Presidente (@OPRArgentina) February 12, 2024
Relief for their families
It was around 3 a.m. that the families of the two men received the news they had been waiting for for more than four months: “We received a call from the Israeli authorities telling us:
Fernando and Luis are in our hands, come see the hospital
.
We were in shock.
We didn't expect that.
But we jumped in the car and got here,” reacted Idan Bejerano, Luis Har’s son-in-law.
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“We were able to see them.
From what we have been able to see, they are under medical supervision, bedridden.
They look good, if I may say so.
They undergo a battery of tests, surrounded by doctors and nurses.
Most importantly, their family surrounds them,” he added while speaking to reporters outside the hospital.
“When we saw them, there were a lot of tears, hugs, but few words (…) We are happy today but we did not win.
This is just one more step towards the return home of the hostages still held in Gaza, he recalled.