The State of Israel released footage Monday of the actual operation that freed two hostages held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
The pieces of footage released relate to an aerial overview of the moment of the rescue of Fernando Simon Marman and Norberto Louis Har, the two hostages, and body cam video that both contained audio, according to Emanuel Fabian, a Times of Israel military correspondent. (RELATED: REPORT: Over 20 Percent Of The Remaining Hostages In Gaza Have Died)
“The IDF releases new footage from the hostage rescue operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah overnight, showing special forces coming under fire and the moments when the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit accompanied Fernando Simon Marman and Norberto Louis Har to a helipad in the Strip,” Fabian tweeted alongside the footage.
The IDF releases new footage from the hostage rescue operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah overnight, showing special forces coming under fire and the moments when the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit accompanied Fernando Simon Marman and Norberto Louis Har to a helipad in the… pic.twitter.com/QlvRXDAyED
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) February 12, 2024
The footage began with one of the soldiers announcing in Hebrew that “the hostages are in our hands” and adding that “there is fire at the forces.” Aerial footage of the building that soldiers are exiting could be seen during this operation. Another soldier could be heard reporting that “the forces have started to move along the route” and they were “on their way out.” Footage of APCs could be seen alongside an announcement that the hostages were “good and healthy.” The footage then picked up with the body cam footage of a soldier sitting opposite the freed hostages in an APC and inquiring over how they were feeling.
“Shocked, shocked, all right,” one freed hostage responded. The officers gave Har a pair of shoes and tied its shoelaces for him given that Har was “extracted barefoot,” Fabian said in his tweet. Both Har and Marman were given coats and offered water as well as blankets in the video. “It is warm. It is warm in our hearts,” they replied when declining the offer of blankets. One officer told the freed men that they were to be transferred from the APC to a helicopter shortly and taken to a hospital.
The rescue operation of the two men occurred Sunday in a nighttime raid in the city of Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. According to Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, there were still 134 hostages in the Gaza Strip as of Monday. Following Marman and Har’s stay in the hospital, the two reunited with their loved ones, a video provided by Fabian showed.
The Israeli police also released a video showing an intense gunfight between IDF soldiers and off-camera Hamas fighters, Fabian tweeted.
Police release dramatic footage from the hostage rescue operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah early Monday morning.
The headcam video shows officers of the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit breaching into the building where Fernando Marman and Louis Har were being held.
The… pic.twitter.com/VSzK6HxFbD
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) February 13, 2024
The footage showed IDF troops engaged in a loud and explosive gun fight. At one point, an IDF soldier was seen tossing what appeared to be a grenade that discharged shortly after. The footage ended with Har speaking to an off-camera soldier.