Israeli military rescues two hostages in Rafah amid heavy strikes in Gaza

livemint.com:

Israeli hostages in Rafah amid air strikes early on Monday, which killed 37 people and wounded dozens in the southern Gaza city, said local health officials. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Israel Defence Force said, “Two Israeli hostages rescued during an overnight mission in Rafah. During a joint operation between the IDF, ISA, and Israel Police, two Israeli hostages from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak were rescued: Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Louis Har (70)." “They are both in good medical condition and were transferred for further medical examination in Israel," it said.

Israeli military spokesman Lt Co. Richard Hecht said, "It was a very complex operation. We’ve been working a long time on this operation.

We were waiting for the right conditions." The hostages were being held on the second floor of a building that was breached with an explosive charge during the raid, which saw heavy exchanges of gunfire with surrounding buildings, Hecht said, adding that an air strike was carried out to allow the forces to be extracted. The air strikes caused widespread panic in Rafah as many people were asleep when the strikes started, said residents contacted by Reuters using a chat app. Some feared Israel had begun its ground offensive into Rafah.

Israeli planes, tanks, and ships took part in the strikes, with two mosques and several houses hit, according to residents. On Monday, the Israeli military it had conducted a “series of strikes" on southern Gaza that have now “concluded", without providing further details. Before previous assaults on Gaza cities, Israel's military has ordered civilians to leave without preparing any specific evacuation plan.