JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Tuesday it has rescued one of dozens of people kidnapped in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
The rescue brought a rare moment of joy to Israelis after months of bitter war, but also another painful reminder of the dozens of hostages who remain in captivity despite international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in which they would be freed.
The military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi was rescued from a tunnel “during a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” without providing further details. It was not immediately clear whether the rescue took place under fire or whether anyone was killed or injured in the operation.
The 52-year-old was one of eight members of Israel’s Bedouin Arab minority who were abducted on October 7. He worked as a guard at a packing plant in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that were attacked. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.
Israeli Channel 12 showed Alkadi’s family members rushing to the hospital where he had been taken after receiving the news.
His brother Hatem told reporters they saw him get off a helicopter and walk to the ambulance that took him to a nearby hospital for medical checkups. Israeli media published a photo of Alkadi, emaciated but smiling, with his family.
“We are so happy to hug him, to see him and tell him that we are all here with him,” a family member who gave his name as Faez told Channel 12. “I hope every hostage goes home so the families can experience this happiness.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue operation was part of the “daring and courageous activities carried out by the army deep inside the Gaza Strip,” adding that Israel was “determined to take advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages.”
Hamas-led militants abducted about 250 people in the October 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
The Israeli retaliatory offensive has left more than 40,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health officials, who did not specify how many were fighters. It has displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused widespread destruction across the besieged territory.
Israel estimates that 108 hostages remain in Gaza, and that more than 40 of them are dead. Most of the others were freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Israel has freed eight hostages in total, including two operations that left dozens of Palestinians dead. Hamas claims several hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped from captivity in December.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar spent months trying to negotiate a deal in which the remaining hostages would be released In exchange for a lasting ceasefire, negotiations are underway in Egypt this week, but there have been no signs of progress.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces harsh criticism from the families of the hostages and a large part of Israeli public opinion, who have not yet reached an agreement with Hamas to repatriate them.
Hamas hopes to exchange the hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including prominent activists.
Last week, after the Israeli army finds bodies of six hostages in southern GazaIsraeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the army was working to gather more intelligence for the rescue operations. But he added that “we cannot bring everyone back through rescue operations alone.”
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