Israeli special forces have rescued an Israeli hostage from a tunnel in the southern part of the Gaza Strip in a "complicated rescue operation” more than 10 months after his kidnapping by "Hamas" on October 7, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
52-year-old Kaid Farhan al-Qadi is one of eight members of Israel's Arab Bedouin minority who were kidnapped on October 7. He worked as a security guard at a packaging factory in Kibbutz Magen, which was among those attacked at the time. Al Qadi has two wives and is the father of 11 children, the Associated Press reported.
Army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said al-Qadi was rescued in an underground tunnel, but did not give details of the operation, citing the safety of the other hostages and Israeli forces, Reuters noted.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the rescue operation was part of the army's “bold and courageous activities carried out deep inside the Gaza Strip”, adding that Israel was “determined to seize every opportunity to return of the hostages", reported AP.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he had spoken with al-Qadi, praised the soldiers for rescuing the hostage and said Israel would work "tirelessly” for the return of all hostages to their homes.
"We do this in two main ways: through negotiations and rescue operations. Both ways together require our military on the ground and continuous military pressure on "Hamas", Netanyahu said.
The operation to rescue the hostage was welcomed by Israeli leaders as pressure mounts on the government to do more to repatriate the more than 100 hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip.
President Yitzhak Herzog said that the rescue of hostage Al Kadi was "a moment of joy for Israel and Israeli society as a whole”.
After the rescue was confirmed, Israeli television showed a military helicopter landing at a hospital and a medical team and an ambulance waiting to receive Al Kadi.
"He is in good condition. "He is currently undergoing research," his brother Hatem al-Qadi told Channel 12 television, adding that Qa'id had lost a lot of weight while in captivity.
More than 250 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in the Islamist invasion by "Hamas" in Israel on October 7. After al-Qadi's rescue, 108 Israeli and foreign hostages still remain in Gaza, but about a third of them are believed to have died.