Benjamin Netanyahu defended this Monday his strategy of maintaining military pressure on Gaza as a way to free the hostages, after the Israeli Army managed to free two captives in an operation in Rafah.

“I salute our brave warriors for the bold action that led to liberation” of the two hostages, said the Israeli prime minister. “Only the continuation of military pressure, until complete victory, will result in the release of our hostages,” the president added in a statement.

For its part, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Disappeared Persons celebrated that the Israeli forces managed to free the two captives, Fernando Simón Marman and Norberto Luis Har, although it again warned Netanyahu that “time is running out for the hostages being held in the hands of Hamas.

More than 130 hostages remain in Gaza

The lives of the more than 130 hostages still in Gaza -it is believed that only a hundred of them are alive and the rest dead- ““They are at risk every moment that passes”therefore “the Israeli Government must exhaust all the options it has on the table to free them,” said the relatives.

The relatives and friends of the hostages have been increasing pressure on the authorities to reach any agreement with Hamas that involves the release of their loved ones, while Netanyahu has assured that Hamas’ demands for a truce were not acceptable and appealed until Now to continue with the military route.

Tonight’s complex operation that led to the release of both captives is the second that the Israeli Army has managed to successfully carry out since the start of the war more than 4 months ago, after in October it also managed to free an Israeli soldier.

On October 7, they took more than 240 people

On October 7, the day the conflict began, when Hamas made a surprise attack on Israel, Palestinian militiamen took more than 240 people hostage to Gaza.

Of these, adding to the two captives released today, a total of 112 have been released, most in a week-long truce last November.

The rescue operation in Rafah this morning took place while Israeli forces attacked the city – where some 1.4 million Palestinians are crowded – with intense bombardments, which resulted in the death of about a hundred people, according to Palestinian sources.