JERUSALEM: Israel rescued a hostage from an underground tunnel in Gaza Tuesday, freeing one of the scores of people abducted during the Oct 7 attack by Hamas that ignited the war in Gaza. The rescue brought a rare moment of joy to Israelis after 10 months of war but also served as a painful reminder that dozens of hostages are still in captivity.
Qaid Farhan Alkadi was one of eight members of Israel’s Arab Bedouin minority who were abducted.He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that came under attack. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.
The 52-year-old is one of eight hostages to be rescued alive, and was the first to be rescued from underground, the Israeli military said, adding it had conducted a “complex operation”. It released footage showing Alkadi moments after the rescue. Unshaven and in a white tank top, he is seen sitting and smiling with soldiers before boarding a helicopter to a hospital. He appeared gaunt but doctors described his condition as stable.
His family and residents from the Rahat area thronged the hospital in Beersheba to welcome him home. As Alkadi’s family waited to see him, one of his brothers held Alkadi’s infant son, who was born while he was in captivity and had not yet met his father.
Military spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said Alkadi was “rescued from a tunnel following accurate intelligence.” He was held in several locations during his 326 days in captivity. PM Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Alkadi by phone, and said Israel would rely on rescue ops and negotiations to bring the other hostages home. “Both ways require our military presence in the field and unceasing military pressure on Hamas,” he said.
Qaid Farhan Alkadi was one of eight members of Israel’s Arab Bedouin minority who were abducted.He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that came under attack. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.
The 52-year-old is one of eight hostages to be rescued alive, and was the first to be rescued from underground, the Israeli military said, adding it had conducted a “complex operation”. It released footage showing Alkadi moments after the rescue. Unshaven and in a white tank top, he is seen sitting and smiling with soldiers before boarding a helicopter to a hospital. He appeared gaunt but doctors described his condition as stable.
His family and residents from the Rahat area thronged the hospital in Beersheba to welcome him home. As Alkadi’s family waited to see him, one of his brothers held Alkadi’s infant son, who was born while he was in captivity and had not yet met his father.
Military spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said Alkadi was “rescued from a tunnel following accurate intelligence.” He was held in several locations during his 326 days in captivity. PM Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Alkadi by phone, and said Israel would rely on rescue ops and negotiations to bring the other hostages home. “Both ways require our military presence in the field and unceasing military pressure on Hamas,” he said.