(JERUSALEM) — The Israeli military said Tuesday it had rescued one of the dozens of people abducted in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
The rescue was a rare moment of joy for Israelis amid months of grueling war, but also another painful reminder that scores of hostages remain in captivity despite international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire that would lead to their release.
The military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi was rescued from a tunnel “during a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” without giving further details. It was not immediately known whether the rescue took place under fire or whether anyone was killed or injured during the operation.
The 52-year-old was one of eight members of Israel’s Arab Bedouin minority who were kidnapped on October 7. He worked as a security guard in a packaging factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of the many farming communities that were attacked. He is married twice and has eleven children.
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Israel’s Channel 12 showed Alkadi’s family members running through the hospital where he was taken after receiving the news.
His brother Hatem told reporters they saw him get out of a helicopter and walk to the ambulance, which took him to a nearby hospital for medical examination. Israeli media published a photo of Alkadi, looking gaunt but smiling with his family.
“We are so happy to hug him and see him and tell him that we are all here with him,” said a family member who gave his name as Faez told Channel 12. “I hope every hostage comes home so the families can experience this happiness.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue operation was part of the army’s “boldest and bravest activities deep inside the Gaza Strip,” adding that Israel was “determined to use every opportunity to release the hostages.”
In the attack on October 7, militants led by Hamas abducted about 250 people. About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, but the number of fighters was not disclosed. Ninety percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes and severe destruction has been caused throughout the besieged territory.
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Israel believes there are still 108 hostages in Gaza and that more than 40 of them are dead. Most of the rest were released during a week-long ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained by Israel.
Israel has freed eight hostages in total, including in two operations in which numerous Palestinians were killed. Hamas said several hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.
The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying for months to negotiate a deal that would see the remaining hostages released in exchange for a permanent ceasefire. Those talks are taking place in Egypt this week, but there are no signs of a breakthrough.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced severe criticism from the hostages’ families and much of the Israeli public for failing to reach an agreement with Hamas on their repatriation.
Hamas hopes to exchange the hostages for a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners, including high-ranking militants.
After the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in the southern Gaza Strip last week, Israel’s military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the army was working to gather more intelligence for rescue operations, but added: “We cannot bring everyone back through rescue operations alone.”
