By James Mackenzie and Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli special forces have recovered an Israeli hostage from a tunnel in southern Gaza in “a complex rescue operation”, the military said on Tuesday, more than 10 months after he was abducted by Hamas-led gunmen.
It said 52-year-old Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a member of the Bedouin community in southern Israel who worked as a security guard on a kibbutz near the Gaza border, had been transferred to hospital and his condition was stable.
Military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Alkadi had been rescued in an underground tunnel but gave no details of the operation, citing the security of the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip and Israeli forces.
A military official told Reuters that soldiers were operating in the area where Alkadi was found, navigating a complex underground system where hostages were suspected to be held alongside militants and explosives.
“Farhan was found by the troops when he was alone, and was rescued from the tunnel,” the official said. “As part of the preparations for the operation, lessons were learned from previous events and encounters with hostages.”
Israeli media quoted Alkadi as saying he had not seen the sun for almost eight months, and that another hostage who was with him for two months had “died next to me”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he had spoken with Alkadi, commended the troops for the rescue and said Israel would work “tirelessly” for the return of all the hostages.
“We do this in two main ways: through negotiations and rescue operations. Both ways together require our military presence in the field, and unceasing military pressure on Hamas,” he said.
During the phone conversation, Netanyahu told Alkadi he was “so happy to speak with you”. Alkadi replied: “I thank you for this work, that you have reached a situation in which I see my family and am here. You truly did sacred work. There are other people who are waiting.”
The operation was hailed by Israeli leaders, desperate for good news almost a year into a grinding military campaign against Hamas during which pressure has mounted on the government to do more to bring over 100 hostages back home.
‘MIRACULOUS’
President Isaac Herzog said the rescue was “a moment of joy for the State of Israel and Israeli society as a whole”.
Israel’s Hostage Families Forum called Alkadi’s return “nothing short of miraculous” but that military operations alone will not free the remaining hostages “who have suffered 326 days of abuse and terror.
“A negotiated deal is the only way forward,” the group said in a statement. “We urgently call on the international community to maintain pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed deal and release all hostages. The remaining hostages cannot afford to wait for another such miracle.”
As the rescue was confirmed, Israeli television stations showed a military helicopter landing at a hospital as medical staff and ambulance stood by waiting to receive Alkadi.
“He is in good condition. He is now going through tests,” his brother Hathem Alkadi told Channel 12 TV, saying Qaid had lost a lot of weight in captivity.
“We are happy we saw him and saw him alive, first and foremost. He asked about his family, if his kids were OK and his mother was OK.”
Alkadi was taken hostage in Kibbutz Magen, one of a string of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip stormed by Hamas-led fighters in a cross-border incursion on Oct. 7.
More than 250 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in the attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed.
Alkadi’s rescue leaves 108 Israeli and foreign hostages still in Gaza but around a third of these are known to have died, with the fate of the others unknown.
The operation followed the rescue of four Israeli hostages in June.
There has been little progress reported from talks to agree a halt to the war in Gaza and the return of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
(Editing by Kevin Liffey, Alex Richardson, Jonathan Oatis and Mark Heinrich)
