‘I’ve got two diamonds here’: New footage from rescue of Israeli hostages Fernando Merman and Luis Har

The Israeli military released new footage from the rescue operation of captivity survivors Fernando Merman and Luis Har on Friday morning. The video, captured by the Israeli soldiers’ body cameras, showed the moments immediately after the rescue and the point in which the hostages met the IDF troops.

Two years ago, on Feb. 12, 2024, Israeli security forces including Shayetet 13 [equivalent to U.S. Navy SEALs] carried out a special operation to rescue hostages Har and Merman from Gaza after 129 days in captivity.

The four soldiers from Yamam [Israel’s counter-terrorism unit] who led the hostage rescue in Rafah, described the mission in detail, from the first operational orders to neutralizing the terrorists and reuniting with Har and Merman, whom they called “the Diamonds.”

"יש לי פה שני יהלומים": תיעוד חדש ממבצע החילוץ של שורדי השבי פרננדו מרמן ולואיס הר@ItayBlumental (צילום: דובר צה"ל) pic.twitter.com/7n5B1A6pvP

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 13, 2026

The unit commander, Brigadier-General K. said the operation was complex because of the hostile surroundings in which the building was located.

“After the fighting ended, we realized the area had become active, and we had to be strong to start withdrawing toward Israel,” he said in an interview. “The process was complex, difficult, and challenging. Our key capability was moving on foot through hostile terrain in pitch darkness, sneaking in, and reaching the decisive point.”

“We succeeded in the initial stage, and then it was a matter of securing the hostages and safely extracting them from the building,” K. said. “The moment they reached the vehicles, the entire command post breathed a sigh of relief.

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