The war: the “miracle” of the release of Argentine hostages in Gaza leaves relatives “shocked”

The two hostages of Argentine origin released this evening in Gaza by Israeli forces were able to reunite with their families on Monday”,a miracle” for which I am still “in shock” after four months of uncertainty.

Fernando Marman, 60, and Luis Har, 70, had been kidnapped for 128 days when they were freed in Rafah, during a vast nighttime operation that involved bombings that, according to Hamas, resulted in the deaths of around a hundred Palestinians.

The two Israeli-Argentinians, kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel, were freed by gunfire by a commando who raided with explosives in the building where they were detained by the Palestinian Islamic movement.

At around 3.15am they arrived by helicopter at Sheba hospital in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv.

“Around 3 in the morning we received a call from the Israeli authorities, who told us ‘we have Fernando and Luis, come and visit them in the hospital’. We were shocked. We didn’t expect it“Idan Bejerano, son-in-law of Luis Har, explained to journalists at the medical center.

“When we saw them, our hearts were beating a million miles an hour, maybe faster.”. There were many tears, hugs and few words,” Bejerano explained.

Also at the medical center, Marman’s niece, Gefen Sigal Ilan, couldn’t stop shaking after the announcement of her uncle’s release.

I’m ‘in shock’, ‘when I saw it, I couldn’t believe it was real’The visibly emotional 36-year-old woman told AFP, adding that the two men were “very thin, very pale”.

For the hospital director, Arnon Afek, “the most emotional moment were the silent hugs” during the meeting. “I will remember this moment for the rest of my life” he assured.

At the end of November, Sheba hospital was already hosting around thirty hostages released under a truce agreement.

“What we have learned is that in addition to the purely physical aspect there is the psychological one. It takes patience. Finding out how they were treated will take time.”Afek explained.

The wait wasn’t easy for the family either. In these last four months “we went to bed exhausted, we woke up tired. There were rumors, videos (about the hostages), it was very difficult,” Idan Bejerano said.

On October 7, Kibbutz Urim resident Luis was at his partner Clara’s home in Nir Yithzak with three other extended family members: Fernando Marman, Gabriela Leimberg and Mia Leimberg.

When a Hamas commando broke in, they barricaded themselves in the safe room of the house and tried to block the door with a chair, but they were kidnapped.

The women were released at the end of November as part of a truce between Israel and Hamas.

In Kibbutz Urim, about fifteen kilometers from Nir Yitzhak, Shabi waits for his friend Luis. “I have known him for more than thirty years. (…) He is a simple, calm boy, who always smiles. And very “A good cook, prepares an excellent barbecue”, added this man, with hazy emerald eyes .