Two years after the ‘Golden Hand’ IDF operation, which rescued Fernando Marman (61) and Luis Har (70) from Hamas captivity, the military released video footage on Friday of the two hostages shortly after their rescued.
The video was composed of body camera footage from Shayetet 13 soldiers who participated in the operation. In it, the two rescued hostages spoke with the soldiers in the helicopter as they were being escorted to safety.
“We have two diamonds here,” one of the soldiers states at the beginning of the recording, referring to Marman and Har.
The soldiers offered earplugs to overcome the noise of the helicopter, water, and any medical attention the two might need.
“Come visit me, and I’ll make you pizzas,” one of the hostages proposed, prompting one of the soldiers to quip back, “We’ll come and make you pizzas.”
Marman and Har were rescued on February 12, 2024, after 129 days in captivity in Gaza.
They were abducted on October 7 and kept with a group of other prisoners in inhumane conditions. Har recounted afterwards that they had been given little food and only allowed to bathe once every few days or weeks. A medical examination conducted after their rescue revealed that he had lost around 16 kg during his time as Hamas’s prisoner.
After their rescue, Har turned his experience into a positive message, creating a large multicolored sculpture reading ‘Tikva’ (hope), which he placed in Hostage Square.