The building and neighborhood in Rafah from where the rescued hostages were held
Operation Yad Zahav, Hebrew for "Golden Hand," for the rescue of Fernando Marman and Luis Har, was carried out by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police anti-terror unit, together with the IDF and the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit and 7th Armored Brigade. The forces arrived secretly at the compound of a building, where the hostages were held on the second floor, and they were also helped by shells dropped from the sky.
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The Palestinians claim that dozens were killed during the operation as a result of the Israeli attacks.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, gave a special statement to the media this morning and gave details about the rescue operation. To Ynet's question regarding reports about the number of Palestinians killed in the operation, he replied: "Many terrorists were killed in this operation, along with the terrorists who were killed during the operation targeting forces that were in the area. We attacked targets of Hamas and operational militias in Rafah."
Hagari noted that the forces worked for a long time to prepare for the operation. The forces secretly arrived at the building in the heart of Rafah where the hostages were held on the second floor, broke into the building where the Hamas terrorists were and rescued the hostages safely. During the operation, which lasted about an hour, the ground forces were given air cover and additional coverages.
The forces broke open the locked building door using an explosive device, shot at nearby targets and successfully rescued the hostages. At this point, fire was opened from the building and nearby buildings, and a prolonged battle took place, during which dozens of Hamas targets were attacked from the air in order to allow the force to leave the building.
During the operation, an IDF soldier who fell from a height was slightly injured. After he managed to get out safely, the force arrived at a prearranged point with a helicopter that took off with the hostages to the Sheba Hospital and they were reunited with their family members.