Israel rescues a hostage from underground tunnel in Gaza
JERUSALEM — Israel rescued a hostage from an underground tunnel in Gaza on 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 as international mediators try to broker a ceasefire in which they would be released.
The military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi was rescued from a tunnel in a “complex operation” in the southern Gaza Strip, but provided few other details. It was not immediately known if the rescue was made under fire, or if anyone was killed or wounded during the operation.
Alkadi was one of eight members of Israel's Arab Bedouin minority who were abducted on Oct. 7. 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.
The Israeli military released footage showing Alkadi moments after the rescue. Unshaven and wearing a white tank top, he is seen sitting and smiling with soldiers before boarding a helicopter to a hospital where he was taken for medical checks. He appeared gaunt, but doctors described his condition as stable.
His large family and residents from around the Rahat area thronged the hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba to welcome him home.
As Alkadi's family waited to see him in the hospital, one of his brothers held Alkadi's infant son, who was born while he was in captivity and had not yet met his father, the brother said.
“We're so excited to hug him and see him and tell him that we're all here with him,” a family member who gave his name as Faez told Channel 12. “I hope that every hostage will come home, so the families can experience this happiness.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue operation was part of the army's “daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza Strip,” adding that Israel is “committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages.”