Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 132?

After four months into the war with Hamas – much remains unknown to the public about the hostages’ condition, including where they were kept, by whom they were held, how they were moved about, etc. Even now, following the daring early-morning rescue of hostages Fernando Marman (61) and Luis Har (70), who spent 129 days in captivity, much remains untold and hidden from the public, apart from the few fragments of details shared with family.

Both Har and Marman have since been transferred to a hospital in central Israel, where their reunion and recovery can be monitored. And despite only escaping Gaza two days ago, their prognosis looks good.

In a press briefing organized by the Jerusalem Press Club [JPC] and the Hostages & Missing Persons’ Families Forum, Maayan Sigal-Koren discussed her family's trials, tribulations, and hopes for the future.

During Hamas' heinous atrocities of October 7, several thousand terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 mostly civilian men, women, and children; and kidnapping over 240. Roughly 100 Hamas fighters entered the Israeli community of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, where they entered some 60 homes, destroyed infrastructure, and murdered and kidnapped community members.

In total, five community members from Nir Yitzhak were murdered, including four of the kibbutz’s security squad. And six were taken hostage – Lior Rudaeff (61), who remains in captivity today, and five members of the Marman-Har-Leimberg family.

LUIS HAR (far left) and Fernando Marman (center), two hostages rescued in a special forces operation in Rafah, Gaza, early Monday morning, reunite with loved ones later in the day at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer. (credit: IDF/Reuters)

This includes Sigal-Koren’s aunt Gabriela Leimberg (59), cousin Mia Leimberg (17), uncle Fernando Marman (61), mother Clara Marman (64), and Clara’s partner Luis Har (70) – a father of four and grandfather to ten.

Clara and Luis live together on the kibbutz, whereas the rest of the family is visiting for the holiday weekend. When Hamas invaded, they all huddled in a corner of their safe room under gunfire until they were coaxed out and kidnapped.

Speaking via Zoom from the hospital, Sigal-Koren says she and her family are optimistic about slowly getting back to their lives and that Har and her uncle Fernando should be discharged from the hospital within a day or so.

That isn’t to say, however, that unexpected issues won’t arise down the road.

In spite of internationally brokered agreements involving Israel, Qatar, and Hamas, for example, none of the hostages have received any medications they were meant to receive. Sigal-Koren told Army Radio in a previous interview that Har was sent a hearing aid, glasses, and medication for his diabetes and hypertension. But Har says he never saw any of it.

Likewise, Har and Marman have only been out of Gaza for a few days now, and long-term consequences can’t yet be observed. “There’s a lot we will only learn in time,” says Sigal-Koren. “But I can see the consequences with my mom, and she was only held hostage for 53 days,” as opposed to 129.

Each hostage’s recovery is different, too. “My mom has a few preconditions,” Sigal-Koren explained. And on top of those conditions, she can’t return to her home.

“I know it will be different now, though, because until two days ago, my mom didn’t start her recovery. She was all-in fighting for her partner [Har] and brother’s [Marman] release… She did start seeing a psychiatrist and some physical and mental rehabilitation. But I guess now that they’re [Har and Marman] back, she’ll be concentrating on herself [more] and really start the rehabilitation as she should.”

But speaking of Har and Marman’s captivity, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also reported in a statement that “The hostages were held captive in harsh conditions;” and that “They were intentionally held in the middle of a civilian neighborhood, inside a civilian building, to try and prevent us from rescuing them. But we did.”

Between what she knows and what she’s allowed to say, Sigal-Koren explains that her whole family was kept by Hamas terrorists and affiliated guards until late November when three of her five family members [Gabriela, Mia, and Clara] were released as part of the Israel-Hamas hostage negotiations. Mia’s dog, Bella, was also taken and released with them.

From then on, Har and Marman were together but isolated from all other hostages. And while they say they initially thought they’d be released soon after, their hopes were dashed by the renewed sounds of war.

Asked what they did know, Sigal-Koren says that given the language barrier, Hamas terrorists told them little. And what was said could have been psychological terror, if not outright lies, to begin with. Hamas reportedly told their captives that October 7 was one of many great victories and that they bragged about killing many people.

“So they didn’t know what was going on,” says Sigal-Koren. “But they knew about missiles. They heard them as they went out from Gaza to Israel, and they definitely heard the missiles and bombing around them in Gaza.”

As for how they passed the time, Sigal-Koren says Har and Marman have only started to open up, but generally, they say they did absolutely nothing. They and other released hostages all say the same thing. They just sat around most of the time.

She also says Har and Marman were able to talk to one another a little, but that “from time to time they didn’t even want to talk to anyone. They wanted to disappear. To close their eyes and meditate and be somewhere else because it was too hard to bear the situation.”

“We’re asking questions, but slowly,” Sigal-Koren continued. “We want to know everything, of course. But it’s hard to talk about. And there are many things I know we’ll never understand. There are things only Luis and Fernando will understand between one another.”

The rescue mission

As for the rescue itself, the operation was jointly conducted by the Shin Bet Israel Security Agency the Israel Defense Forces [IDF], and the Israeli Police Yamam and Border Police units.

IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said of the mission that it “was a complex rescue operation under fire in the heart of Rafah, based on highly sensitive and valuable intelligence from the Intelligence Directorate and the Israel Security Agency."

Footage of the rescue that’s been released by the IDF and Israeli police shows Israeli forces storming the building in question with explosions, engaging Hamas terrorists, and hastily making their escape.

The two hostages were then rushed into an armored vehicle, which ferried them to a helicopter. And the helicopter, in turn, brought them to Sheba Medical Center in central Israel. The entire operation took less than an hour.

In the armored vehicle, one of the commandos asks Marman and Har how they’re feeling, “excellent” is the reply, as their smiles beam from ear to ear.

“It was a complete surprise [for them],” says Sigal-Koren. And “same for us. At 3 am, the people who were with us all this time from the army called us and told us they [Marman and Har] were in the hands of the IDF, and it was shocking. I needed them to tell me a few times that it really happened because it was such a surprise. They said they were taking us to the hospital, and it was a big mess of excitement and feelings that I will never forget.”

Fernando and Luis, on the other hand, quickly understood that the Israeli army was outside the doors of their prison. “They called their names once they entered where they were,” Sigal-Koren continued, adding that “at the moment an Israeli soldier held him [Har], he felt secure… like nothing could ever happen to him again. It’s very calming to know that this is the way they felt from that moment—that they’re so safe and at home even before they got back to Israel.”

“This rescue mission underscores the importance of our ground operation in Gaza, including Rafah, when conditions allow,” concluded Hagari in his statement about the mission. “134 men, women, children, and elderly are still being held hostage in Gaza. We have a moral obligation to bring all our hostages home. And that is an obligation that we will continue doing everything in our power to fulfill.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III stressed the importance of protecting civilians and ensuring the entry of humanitarian aid before launching any operations against Hamas in Rafah during a conversation with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant early Thursday morning.

The two also discussed the recent rescue mission in which Fernando Marman and Luis Norbeto Har were rescued from Hamas captivity in the heart of Rafah, as well as ongoing negotiations to reach a hostage release deal.

The leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement released in response to reports about Israel's planned military operation in Rafah.

"We are gravely concerned by indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive into Rafah. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic," the statement by the prime ministers of the three countries said.

"An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed."

Israel will press ahead with an offensive against Hamas in Rafah, a refuge for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, after allowing civilians to vacate the area, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

A truck carrying aid arrives at a tent camp, as Displaced Palestinians who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter there amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the border with Egypt in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 6, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

No to a 'one sided' ceasefire 

The statement urged Israel not to conduct the offensive, however it said any ceasefire could not be "one sided," and would require Hamas to disarm and immediately release all remaining hostages.

The leaders also said the International Court of Justice's January ruling in a genocide case brought by South Africa obligated Israel to protect civilians and deliver basic services and essential humanitarian assistance.

"The protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law," the statement said. "Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas."

The United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries are restricting the US's use of military facilities in their territory to launch airstrikes against the Iranian axis, people familiar with the issue told Politico on Wednesday.

The restrictions come as Arab countries attempt to balance the desire to help the US deter Iran and its proxies, while also assuaging their citizens' anger toward Israel.

Arab countries "attempting a detente with Iran" are "increasingly restricting" the US and other allies from conducting retaliatory strikes from their soil against targets in Iraq, Syria, and the Red Sea, a US official told Politico. The official did not state exactly how many countries are implementing these restrictions.

A Western official told Politico that the UAE specifically is implementing the restrictions because "they don’t want to appear like they’re against Iran and they don’t want to appear too close to the West and Israel for public opinion reasons."

The US has several bases in the Gulf and the region where it operates from, including the Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE.

A member of Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary forces) holds a flag of Kataib Hezbollah militia group during a protest to condemn air strikes on their bases, outside the main gate of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq December 31, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/THAIER AL-SUDANI)

Iranian proxies threaten US bases in region

Several Iranian proxies have threatened to attack Arab states that the US uses to launch strikes from.

In October, just a few weeks after the Israel-Hamas war began, Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq, an Iran-backed militia believed to be linked to the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah militia, threatened to target bases where American forces are housed in Kuwait and the UAE.

The militia has claimed attacks against Gulf states in the past, including a drone attack in which three drones were intercepted by the UAE in February 2022, although most drone and missile attacks toward Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent years have been claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, which has also launched a series of attacks against international shipping in the area since the war between Israel and Hamas began.

The White House issued a memo on Wednesday to defer enforced departure for certain Palestinians for 18 months given the humanitarian and military conditions in the Palestinian territories. 

"Following the horrific October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, and Israel's ensuing military response, humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territories, and primarily Gaza, have significantly deteriorated," according to a statement from President Joe Biden. 

"While I remain focused on improving the humanitarian situation, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Palestinians who are present in the United States," the statement said.

A dog stands in rubble in the Gaza Strip, February 8, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/DYLAN MARTINEZ)

Who is exempted?

Exempted are Palestinians who did not reside in the US prior to February 14, those convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the US, and those subjected to extradition, among other conditions. 

The memo directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to take measures to authorize employment for noncitizens whose removal has been deferred, and to consider suspending regulatory requirements to F-1 nonimmigrant Palestinian students. 

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz hosted a roundtable discussion on Wednesday to raise awareness about the sexual and gender-based violence Hamas perpetrated on Oct. 7 along with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah E. Lipstadt.

Wasserman-Shultz was nearly in tears as she began the program. Earlier Wednesday, Wasserman-Shultz said she met with Israeli law enforcement to hear about the ongoing investigation into Hamas and its use of sexual violence. 

"I have never seen more sadistic evil perpetrated against another human than in the photos and videos that we saw earlier this morning," Wasserman-Shultz said. 

Wasserman-Shultz said the evidence of sexual violence is "abundant and beyond compelling."

Through survivors coming forward, witnesses, video footage and independent analysis, we know that Hamas' use of sexual violence including rape, mutilation and brutality was not an anomaly, according to Wasserman-Shultz.

Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog with Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz at a roundtable discussion at the Capitol on sexual violence in Hamas' October 7 massacre. (credit: EMBASSY OF ISRAEL)

"It was a premediated part of their strategy to purposefully use sexual violence as a weapon against innocent civillians," she said. 

Skepticism about Israeli survivors 'unacceptable'

Wasserman-Shultz said when Israelis bravely came forward to share the horrors they experienced or witnessed, there was silence or categorical dismissal of their stories. They were questioned, accused of being part of a PR campaign, doxxed, and threatened on social media, Wasserman-Shultz said. 

“It’s unacceptable that skepticism still follows survivors, and unconscionable that hate and bias are driving people to ‘believe only some women.’ We cannot equivocate. We cannot let this revolting ideology create a permission structure for premeditated and intentional rape, “ Wasserman Schultz said. “And we cannot give an inch to those who would overlook sexual violence specifically against Jews, because they are the heirs to the darkest moments in our history. Today we helped lift that silence and confronted the hate that feeds it.”

Emhoff said there can not be silence when Jewish women experience sexual violence; Jewish women must be believed and their stories must be elevated. The hate, barbarism, and terrorism must be acknowledged, he said. 

"The discrediting of accounts is simply a failure of justice. Sexual violence, mutilation, torture, butchering is not an inevitably byproduct of war," Emhoff said. 

While it may be difficult to bear witness to these atrocities, Herzog said we must not allow Hamas’ violence against women to go unnoticed. 

"When so many have been unwilling to believe Israeli women, the evidence shows their hypocrisy," Herzog said. 

The roundtable discussion Wednesday came as Congress is expected to vote on a resolution "Condemning rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas in its war against Israel."

According to the resolution, the House condemns all rape and forms of sexual violence as weapons of war, including those acts committed by Hamas terrorists on and since Oct. 7. 

The resolution also calls on all nations to criminalize rape and sexual assault and hold accountable all perpetrators of sexual violence, including state and non-state armed groups. 

The resolution reaffirms the US government’s support for independent, impartial investigations of rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas on and since Oct. 7 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting survivors of rape and sexual violence, including those brutalized on and since Oct. 7.

Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) introduced the bill which has 200 cosponsors.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that he planned to move forward with a military operation in Gaza’s Rafah, as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to finalize a hostage deal with Israel to prevent such action.

“We will fight until complete victory with a powerful action, including in Rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the combat zone,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X.

He spoke out amid strong international condemnation of any potential operation in Rafah, which is near the Egyptian border.

Netanyahu has promised that he would move forward only once a plan to protect civilians in Rafah had been completed.

International concern, however, is high for the fate of over 1.3 million Palestinians in Rafah, many of whom fled there to escape bombings in the northern part of the enclave.

Palestinians at the site where two Israeli hostages rescued overnight in an Israeli operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 12, 2024. (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)

The possibility of an IDF operation in Rafah, an area considered to be the last Hamas stronghold, has also become a pressure lever to force the terror group to make a hostage deal with Israel.

In an unusual move, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to soften its demands because a hostage deal was likely to prevent an IDF operation in Gaza.

“We call on everyone, especially the Hamas movement, to quickly complete the [hostage] deal so that we can protect our people and remove all obstacles,” Abbas said, according to the Palestine News Agency, WAFA.

“We hold everyone responsible for placing any obstacles from any party to disrupt the deal because things are no longer tolerable, and it is time for everyone to bear responsibility,” Abbas said.

Abbas urges Hamas

Abbas urged Hamas to “spare Palestinian people the scourge of another catastrophe with ominous consequences, no less dangerous than the Nakba of 1948, and to avoid the occupation’s attack on the city of Rafah, which will lead to thousands of victims, suffering, and displacement for our people.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters in Washington that Abbas’s comments were unusual and that more leaders should call Hamas to task. 

“Some of the international community’s pressure should be on Hamas, and Abbas coming forward today to do that has been unusual,” Sullivan said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock who is visiting Israel spoke of her opposition to an Israeli military operation in Gaza when she spoke with reporters in Jerusalem.

Baerbock said: "1.3 million people are waiting there in a very small space. They don't really have anywhere else to go right now ... If the Israeli army were to launch an offensive on Rafah under these conditions, it would be a humanitarian catastrophe.”

French President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement that Macron, in a phone call with Netanyahu, had expressed his firm opposition to a possible Israeli military offensive in Rafah.

"This could only lead to a humanitarian catastrophe of a new magnitude and to forced displacement of populations, which would constitute violations of international human rights and bring additional risk of regional escalation," it said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

IDF warplanes carried out an extensive wave of attacks against Hezbollah deep in Lebanese territory on Wednesday in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier and the wounding of multiple others by rocket fire, the IDF said.

Earlier Wednesday morning, several soldiers were hospitalized after being hit by rocket fire in northern Israel as Hezbollah ramped up its attacks on Israeli cities.

An IDF base was hit in the barrage.

“A short while ago, numerous launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into the areas of Netu’a, Manara, and into an IDF base in northern Israel,” the military said in a statement. “The IDF struck the sources of the fire.”

Sirens were heard in Safed, Meron, and across the Upper Western Galilee as a barrage of rockets struck.

After initial reports of a direct hit in Safed, Magen David Adom (MDA) stated they were providing medical aid to seven people – one in serious condition, one in moderate condition, and six in light condition. The wounded were transferred to Ziv Medical Center in Safed.

St.-Sgt. Omer Sarah Benjo was killed in the attack

The IDF later announced that the soldier in serious condition, 20-year-old Staff Sergeant Omer Sarah Benjo, died of her wounds.

Staff sergeant Omer Sarah Benjo was killed by Hezbollah rocket fire in northern Israel. February 14, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

“As we have made clear time and time again, Israel is not interested in a war on two fronts. But if provoked, we will respond forcefully,” said government spokesperson Ilana Stein.

“The current reality, where tens of thousands of Israelis are displaced and cannot return to their homes, is unbearable. They must be able to return home and live in peace and security.”

Stein and Israel’s military said on Wednesday that the army had responded to cross-border rocket fire from Lebanon.

Israel’s military chief, Herzi Halevi, who had been meeting the heads of local municipalities in northern Israel on Wednesday, said that despite what he described as achievements against Hezbollah, this was “not the time to stop.”

Firefighters from the Galilee-Golan regional station worked for hours to put out a fire in a building in Safed that broke out as a result of a direct hit by rocket fire from Lebanon, the Fire and Rescue team said in a statement.

Mateh Asher Regional Council head Moshe Davidovitz stated, “The north this morning is under a flood of missiles. I suggest the government and its leader wake up. The head of the Radwan Force spits on us time and time again, and we think it’s raining. I repeat: Without security, there is no North.”

Davidovitz has previously stated that the northern residents feel abandoned by Israel’s government amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the attacks by Hezbollah.

Two people were wounded in Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday after a direct rocket landed in the city.

At least 12 killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon

At least twelve people were killed in Israeli strikes targeting southern Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon and evening after the rocket fire toward the Safed area.

In the first wave of strikes after the rocket fire, a woman and her two children were killed in an Israeli strike on the village of al-Sawana, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. Hezbollah said a strike on a separate town killed one of its fighters. Eleven people were wounded across the south, and the level of damage was “vast,” the sources said.

Later in the evening, an Israeli strike targeted an apartment in Nabatieh, resulting in the deaths of at least four people from one family and four others, according to Lebanese reports. Several injuries were reported in the strike as well.

A view of the site where a rocket landed after it was fired from Lebanon, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, near the entrance to a hospital in Safed, northern Israel February 14, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/Avi Ohayon)

Hezbollah says will only stop when 'Israeli aggression' in Gaza ends

The head of Hezbollah said on Tuesday that the cross-border shelling into Israel would end only when Israel’s “aggression” against the Gaza Strip stops. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened to displace more residents from northern Israel, where tens of thousands have already been evacuated due to months of Hezbollah rocket fire, adding that if Israel’s military widened the war, his group would do the same.

“On that day, when the shooting stops in Gaza, we will stop the shooting,” he said.

Gadi Zaig and Reuters contributed to this report.