ReutersThe Israeli military said commandos rescued a Bedouin Arab hostage kidnapped by Hamas during an Oct. 7 Israeli attack from an underground tunnel in Gaza.
Kaid Farhan Elkadi, 52, was rescued during a “complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip” by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet internal security service, a statement said.
The statement said that no further details could be released “due to considerations of hostage safety, force safety and national security.”
Mr. Elkadi is the eighth hostage rescued by Israeli forces since the outbreak of the Gaza war. He is currently undergoing examination in hospital and is in stable condition.
Photos released by the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba showed him sitting in a hospital armchair talking to his family.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that he managed to escape his captors before being rescued and that soldiers were trying to find out whether he was being held with other hostages.
Mr. Elkadi’s brother Hatam, tell haaretz Said he was “a little skinny”.
“We told him everything was fine and everyone was waiting outside for him,” he said.
“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. We hope that all the hostages will get this moment and that they will all experience the same excitement and joy,” he added. “May all the hostages be returned and may all the families feel this feeling.”
Mr. Elkadi, a father of 11 and grandfather of one, hails from a Bedouin village in the Rahat region of the Negev desert.
He worked for many years as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen, near the border with Israel and Gaza, where he was kidnapped 10 months ago.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video announcement that he could not reveal further details about the operation that led to his release.
But he added that he could “share that Israeli commandos rescued [him] From underground tunnels, following accurate intelligence.”
Footage released by the Israel Defense Forces showed Mr Elkadi sitting down, smiling and talking to soldiersIncluding the commander of the 162nd Division shortly after being rescued.
A senior Israeli military official confirmed that troops were operating “in a complex underground system where hostages are suspected to be held”.
The official added that Mr Elkady was alone in the tunnel when he was discovered by Israeli troops when he was rescued.
ReutersIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had congratulated Mr Elkady in a phone call and told him that all Israelis were moved by the news.
“We are working tirelessly to repatriate all hostages,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying in the statement.
“We do this primarily through two means: negotiations and rescue operations. Both require our military presence on the ground, as well as sustained military pressure.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described the rescue as a “miracle”.
But it emphasized that “military action alone cannot rescue the remaining hostages who have suffered 326 days of abuse and terror” and “negotiation and agreement are the only way out.”
“We urgently call on the international community to maintain pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed deal and release all hostages.”
On October 7, an unprecedented attack occurred in southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage. The Israeli military launched an operation to destroy Hamas.
Since then, more than 40,430 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to agree on a ceasefire that would see Hamas release the 104 hostages still being held, including 34 presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Indirect talks have continued in Cairo in recent days, but so far there are no signs of a breakthrough on key issues. These included Netanyahu’s request for Israel to station troops on the Gaza-Egyptian border, a request Hamas rejected.
Two other Bedouin Arabs – Yousef Zyadna and his son Hamza – is one of the remaining hostages who is still alive, while the body of the third hostage, Mohammed Atrash, is still being held by Hamas.
Another Bedouin, Hisham Saidhas been held in Gaza since 2015.
