IOF claim retrieved two captives from southern Gaza city of Rafah
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The Israeli occupation military says it retrieved the two captives during a joint operation with Shin Bet and the Israeli Police.
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Israeli occupation soldiers drive a military vehicle in Gaza, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo)
The Israeli occupation military claimed early Monday that its forces retrieved two captives who were held by the Palestinian Resistance since October 7 in an overnight operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
In a statement, the occupation military said that during a joint operation with Shin Bet and the Israeli Police, it retrieved Israeli captives Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Louis Har (70), who were held captives by Palestinian Resistance fighters on October 7th from Kibbutz "Nir Yitzhak".
"They are both in good medical condition, and were transferred for medical examination at the Sheba Tel Hashomer hospital," the statement added.
Official Israeli figures say that around 130 captives are still held in Gaza, but 29 are thought to be dead. The Palestinian Resistance managed to liberate more than 200 prisoners from Israeli occupation prisons in exchange for releasing dozens of Israeli captives during a one-week truce in November.
This comes as earlier, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, announced on Sunday that two Israeli captives were killed and eight others were wounded in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
"Their conditions are becoming more dangerous in light of the inability to provide them with appropriate treatment. [Israel] bears full responsibility for the lives of those injured in light of their continued bombing," the statement said, regarding the remaining captives.
It is noteworthy that several Palestinian Resistance factions confirmed that a number of Israeli captives held in Gaza were killed while in their custody in aerial and artillery bombardment carried out by the Israeli occupation forces.
The Palestinian Resistance has repeatedly published footage of Israeli captives calling on their government to halt the aggression on Gaza and work toward their release. Meanwhile, the ongoing Israeli strikes on Gaza and attempts to advance further inside the Strip have led to the killing of several Israeli captives.
For months, the families of the Israeli captives have been staging protests in "Tel Aviv" demanding that the Israeli government end the war and negotiate a prisoner exchange deal and criticizing the failure of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in retrieving the remaining captives.
On their part, the Palestinian Resistance factions have reiterated that they will not negotiate a deal unless the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza ends and the occupation forces withdraw from the Strip, rejecting any temporary agreements.
