By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin By — Solveig Rennan Solveig Rennan Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/biden-warns-israel-to-protect-palestinians-after-gaza-raid-to-rescue-hostages-kills-dozens Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio It has been a day of joy in Israel, a day of dread in Gaza and a day of warnings in Washington. Israeli troops rescued two hostages from Hamas militants in Rafah in an operation that Palestinian authorities say killed more than 70. Israel is now threatening to assault Rafah, but President Biden warned that the displaced Palestinians there must be protected. Nick Schifrin reports. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Amna Nawaz: It's been a day of joy in Israel, a day of dread in Gaza, and a day of warnings in Washington. Israeli troops last night rescued two hostages from Hamas militants in Rafah in an operation that Palestinian authorities say killed more than 70. Israel is now threatening to assault Rafah, where it says Hamas leadership is hiding and which is hosting more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents.But President Biden today warned Israel that the displaced must be protected.Nick Schifrin has our report. Nick Schifrin: As the Israeli military lit the Rafah sky, on the ground, special forces launched a rescue mission. Israel said it raided an apartment complex and traded fire with Hamas militants before it could recover two hostages, 60-year-old Fernando Marman and 7-year-old Louis Har, reunited with family members after 128 days of captivity.They're the second and third hostages to be rescued, and Israel called their release proof that the military needs to maintain pressure. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Spokesperson, Israeli Defense Forces: This rescue mission underscores the importance of our ground operation in Gaza. Nick Schifrin: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose brother died freeing kidnapped Israelis 48 years ago, called the rescue historic. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (through interpreter): I want to tell you that the release of Louis and Fernando is one of the most successful rescue operations in the history of the state of Israel. Nick Schifrin: Rescue was facilitated by dozens of airstrikes that the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said killed dozens.Dr. Jamal Al-Hams in blue tried to save the wounded in the only available facility, an overwhelmed tent. Dr. Jamal Al-Hams, Kuwaiti Hospital: There is no big capacity. There is no ability of the hospitals because of the shortages. Nick Schifrin: Today, in the operations aftermath, family homes are reduced to rubble."PBS NewsHour" producer Shams Odeh: Shams Odeh: More than 10 houses was demolished, as you see in the pictures. Here, where the Israeli command said that they released two of the hostages here from Rafah,if you look around me, you see all of the house had been destroyed completely. And there's a lot of people killed here and displaced in Rafah. Nick Schifrin: Hamas said the Israeli operation killed at least three other hostages and wounded five more. Israel says it can't confirm that and accuses Hamas of lying about the hostages' fate.Rafah is home to 1.3 million displaced Gazans. But Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to develop plans to move civilians and besiege the city, where Israel says Hamas' leadership is hiding. The international community is pushing back.Top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell:Josep Borrell, European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs: Netanyahu have been asking to the evacuation of 1.7 million people without saying where these people could be evacuated. Nick Schifrin: The U.N.Ravina Shamsadani, Spokeswoman, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: A potential full-fledged military incursion into Rafah, where some 1.5 million Palestinians are packed against the Egyptian border with nowhere further to flee is terrifying. Nick Schifrin: Egypt has threatened to suspend its 45-year-old peace treaty with Israel. And a senior administration official said President Biden told Netanyahu that moving the population was a — quote — "precondition of an operation" and it can't — quote — "proceed without a credible plan."Joe Biden , President of the United States: Many people there have been displaced, displaced multiple times, fleeing the violence to the north, and now they're packed into Rafah, exposed and vulnerable. They need to be protected. And we have also been clear from the start we oppose any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. Nick Schifrin: Israel and the U.S. believe about 100 hostages remain alive in Gaza. More than 100 gained freedom in November thanks to a diplomatic agreement between Israel and Hamas. Progress is being made for another release.A senior administration official says the framework is — quote — "pretty much now in place" and the initial phase is actually finished, but significant differences remain. Joe Biden : The key elements of the deal are on the table. There are gaps that remain, but I'm encouraging Israeli leaders to keep working to achieve the deal. Nick Schifrin: Tomorrow, CIA Director Bill Burns will resume negotiations in Cairo to try and maintain diplomatic momentum before Israel follows through on its threat to invade Rafah.For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin. Listen to this Segment Watch Watch the Full Episode PBS NewsHour from Feb 12, 2024 By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin is PBS NewsHour’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent. He leads NewsHour’s daily foreign coverage, including multiple trips to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, and has created weeklong series for the NewsHour from nearly a dozen countries. The PBS NewsHour series “Inside Putin’s Russia” won a 2017 Peabody Award and the National Press Club’s Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence. In 2020 Schifrin received the American Academy of Diplomacy’s Arthur Ross Media Award for Distinguished Reporting and Analysis of Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the NewsHour teams awarded a 2021 Peabody for coverage of COVID-19, and a 2023 duPont Columbia Award for coverage of Afghanistan and Ukraine. Prior to PBS NewsHour, Schifrin was Al Jazeera America's Middle East correspondent. He led the channel’s coverage of the 2014 war in Gaza; reported on the Syrian war from Syria's Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian borders; and covered the annexation of Crimea. He won an Overseas Press Club award for his Gaza coverage and a National Headliners Award for his Ukraine coverage. From 2008-2012, Schifrin served as the ABC News correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2011 he was one of the first journalists to arrive in Abbottabad, Pakistan, after Osama bin Laden’s death and delivered one of the year’s biggest exclusives: the first video from inside bin Laden’s compound. His reporting helped ABC News win an Edward R. Murrow award for its bin Laden coverage. Schifrin is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a board member of the Overseas Press Club Foundation. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a Master of International Public Policy degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). @nickschifrin By — Solveig Rennan Solveig Rennan Solveig Rennan is an associate producer for the PBS NewsHour.