Argentina's president thanks Israel for rescue of its nationals held hostage
From Duarte Mendonca and Elliott Gotkine
Argentina's President Javier Milei is pictured during a tour around southern Israel's Kibbutz Nir Oz -- one of the places targeted by Hamas militants during the October 7 attacks -- on February 8. Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
The office of Argentina's President Javier Milei praised Israel for the rescue of its two citizens from Gaza on Monday.
Milei's office said on X that it thanks the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Security Agency and the Israel Police for "having successfully completed the rescue" of Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70.
Marman and Har are dual Israeli-Argentine nationals, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum told CNN.
They were both captured during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, according to the IDF.
Milei said he had repeated a request to free the Argentine hostages to Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a recent state visit to Israel.
2:47 a.m. ET, February 12, 2024
Hamas condemns Israel's "horrific massacre" of civilians in Rafah
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Alex Stambaugh
Wounded Palestinians are brought to Kuwait Hospital for treatment following Israeli attacks on Rafah City, Gaza on February 12. Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images
Hamas condemned what it called a "horrific massacre" by Israel against civilians in Rafah on Monday after the Israeli military confirmed it conducted airstrikes near the city.
More than 100 people were killed in overnight strikes by Israeli forces in the southern city, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). Hamas also said over 100 people were killed in the attacks.
Hamas said the Israeli military's attack on Rafah "and its horrific massacres against defenseless civilians and displaced children, women, and the elderly... is considered a continuation of the genocidal war and the forced displacement attempts it is waging against our Palestinian people."
CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties on the ground.
In its statement, Hamas accused US President Joe Biden and his administration of bearing "full responsibility" for the civilian deaths.
Israel's strikes on Rafah come a day after Biden had a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reaffirmed his stance that the Israeli military should not proceed with a ground offensive in Rafah “without a credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of civilians — estimated to be over one million people who had fled there amid Israeli bombardment.
Biden and Netanyahu had discussed a deal to secure the release of hostages in Gaza at length during the call, according to a senior administration official, but gaps remain in those discussions.
6:28 a.m. ET, February 12, 2024
Death toll rises to over 100 in Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, Palestine Red Crescent Society says
From CNN staff
Palestinians bodies are brought to Kuwait Hospital following Israeli attacks on Rafah City, Gaza on February 12. Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images
The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Rafah in southern Gaza has risen to over 100, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Monday.
CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties on the ground.
The PRCS said people were still trapped under rubble and the death toll may increase.
Remember: More than 1.3 million people are believed to be in Rafah, the majority displaced from other parts of Gaza, according to the United Nations, as the city that borders Egypt remains the last refuge for Palestinians fleeing south to avoid Israel’s air and ground campaigns across the bombarded enclave.
Israel strikes Rafah: The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Monday that they conducted "a series of strikes" on targets in the area of Shaboura, a district of Rafah.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters that aerial strikes started at 1:50 a.m. local., just a minute after its forces rescued two Israeli hostages from Rafah.
This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Daniel Hagari's name.
4:38 p.m. ET, February 12, 2024
IDF says it conducted operation in Rafah to extract hostages
From CNN's Mike Schwarz
Israeli military spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, speaks to the media in the northern Gaza Strip, on December 15, 2023. Ariel Schalit/AP/File
Israeli forces conducted a coordinated operation on Hamas targets in Rafah to secure the release of two hostages, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters on Monday.
Hagari said the "covert operation with extraction under fire" started at 1:49 a.m. local, and aerial strikes followed at 1:50 a.m. local.
The news of the hostage release comes as Rafah was being pounded by Israeli attacks.
Hostage rescue: Hagari said Israeli soldiers encountered resistance and that the hostages were successfully escorted out under fire from Hamas.
The two men, aged 70 and 60, were taken to a safe place within Rafah to get medical attention and then airlifted out of Gaza by helicopter to the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.
12:45 a.m. ET, February 12, 2024
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrives in Qatar
From CNN's Jo Shelley
Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting in Amman, Jordan, on October 17, 2023. Jacquelyn Martin/AP/File
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrived on Sunday in Doha, Qatar, which has been a key mediator in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Abbas is expected to meet with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Monday as part of continuing discussions to stop Israel's "aggression," according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The Palestinian Authority is a government body with limited self-rule in the West Bank.
The visit comes as CIA director Bill Burns is expected to travel to Cairo for a Tuesday meeting to push for a hostage release deal, according to two sources familiar with the plans.
One of the sources said Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Israel's Mossad Director David Barnea are also expected to be in attendance.
3:48 a.m. ET, February 12, 2024
It's morning in the Middle East. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
Two Israeli hostages were rescued overnight from the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a special operation, the Israeli military said Monday.
Their rescue comes 128 days after they were taken captive.
The men are in good medical condition and have been transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Israel, the IDF said.
The news of the hostage release comes as Rafah was being pounded by Israeli attacks. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Monday that more than 60 people had been killed by recent airstrikes and that the city was experiencing “intense targeting.”
CNN cannot independently verify the numbers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off mounting criticism of plans for a Rafah ground offensive — where more than 1.3 million displaced people are taking refuge in the enclave — even as Hamas hinted such a military attack might jeopardize hostage negotiations.
Here are the latest developments.
Netanyahu's plans in Rafah: Netanyahu called Rafah the “last bastion” of Hamas and said Israel was “working out a detailed plan” to secure “safe passage” for civilians but offered few details in an interview with ABC released Sunday. He also said asking Israel not to enter the southern Gazan city was like telling the country to lose the war.
Biden's call with Netanyahu: US President Joe Biden "reaffirmed” his stance to Netanyahu that the Israeli military should not proceed with the military operation in Rafah “without a credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of civilians. The leaders discussed a deal to secure the release of hostages in Gaza at length, according to a senior administration official, who cautioned that while a framework is in place, gaps remain.
Concerns over Israel's plans: Key mediator Qatar has condemned “in the strongest terms” Israel’s plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, urging the UN’s Security Council to “prevent” Israel from committing what it described as “genocide." Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom and aid agencies warned of a spiraling humanitarian crisis if Israel storms into the southern city.
Hostage negotiations: A Hamas leadership source told a Hamas-run television channel that an offensive operation in Rafah would mean the end of hostage negotiations. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, meanwhile, wrote an open letter questioning Israel’s approach to ongoing negotiations with Hamas.
Devastation in Khan Younis: Many buildings have been destroyed and the rubble bulldozed away in the southern city, CNN witnessed on the ground. The city is the hometown of Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and, according to the Israel Defense Forces, a major Hamas stronghold.
"Total destruction": Residents in northern Gaza said Israeli military operations left behind "total destruction," with some families resorting to drinking toilet water to survive. Fighting has continued sporadically there, despite the focus on the south.
1:48 a.m. ET, February 12, 2024
More than 60 people killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah, Palestine Red Crescent Society says
From CNN staff
Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12. Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images
More than 60 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gazan city of Rafah, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said early Monday.
CNN cannot independently verify the numbers.
The city, where more than half of Gaza’s population is seeking refuge, experienced "intense targeting" by warplanes and airstrikes, the PRCS said.
Helicopters also fired machine guns along its border regions, according to the PRCS. Rafah lies near Gaza's border with Egypt.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Monday that they conducted "a series of strikes" on targets in the area of Shaboura, a district of Rafah, saying in a statement that "the strikes have concluded."
A mosque in Shaboura was among the targets of the Israeli strikes, according to the Rafah municipality.
Hamas-run television channel Al-Aqsa reported two mosques were targeted as well as 14 homes in various areas of Rafah on Monday.
The director of Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital said medical facilities in Rafah "cannot handle the large number of injuries due to the Israeli occupation's bombardment."
According to the PRCS, people are trapped under the rubble and there is still a heavy presence of warplanes in the skies over Rafah.
Some context: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off mounting criticisms over plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, where more than 1.3 million people have taken refuge, many of whom were already displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.
This post has been updated with the IDF's confirmation of strikes on Rafah.
4:38 p.m. ET, February 12, 2024
Two male Israeli hostages rescued in special operation in Rafah, IDF says
From CNN staff
Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, the two hostages rescued from Gaza by Israeli forces. The Hostage and Missing Families
Two Israeli hostages were rescued overnight from the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a special operation between the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency Shin Bet, and the Israeli police.
The two hostages have been identified as Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, who were taken by Hamas during the militant group's October 7 attack on Israel, according to the joint statement on Monday.
Their rescue comes 128 days after they were taken captive.
The two men are in good medical condition and have been transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Israel, the IDF said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said it was an "impressive release operation" by the IDF.
"All appreciation to IDF forces, security forces and special police forces for the important operation and quality performance. We will keep our commitment to return the hostages in any way," he wrote on X.
Both hostages had been kidnapped from the Nir Yitzhak kibbutz, Gallant said.
Some context: Nir Yitzhak was one of multiple kibbutzim close to the border with Gaza that came under attack by Hamas militants during their October 7 attack that saw about 1,200 people killed and more than 240 taken hostage. Israel’s response has wrought widespread devastation across Gaza. The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza has said the death toll since October 7 has risen to more than 27,500.
This picture provided by the Israeli military, shows an Israeli Air Force helicopter carrying two released hostages, at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Februay 12. Israel Defense Forces/AP
9:47 p.m. ET, February 11, 2024
Biden stresses to Netanyahu the need for "credible" plan to ensure safety of Rafah civilians
From CNN’s Aileen Graef
US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday morning and “reaffirmed” his stance the Israel Defense Forces should not proceed with the military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah “without a credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of civilians.
Biden also stressed the need capitalize on the progress in the negotiations to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Many of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in tent camps in Rafah have already been displaced from elsewhere in the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.
The plan has sparked concern from many countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry warned of "very serious repercussions of storming and targeting" the city while the United Arab Emirates warned Israel's plan “threatens to cause the loss of more innocent life and exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”
The key facilitator of negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Qatar has also condemned the plans, and the Egyptian foreign ministry said Sunday that it strongly rejects Israel's plan, warning of "dire consequences."
Hamas has warned that if the offensive into Rafah takes place, it would spell the end of hostage negotiations.
