Israeli forces escort 52-year-old Qaed Farhan al-Qadi as he disembarked from a helicopter in Israel on August 27, 2024. The Israeli military claimed on Tuesday to have rescued an Israeli prisoner held in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
GPO | Anadolu | Getty Images
A Bedouin man held hostage Gauze for more than 10 months was rescued by Israeli forces on Tuesday, Israeli officials announced.
Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued from an underground tunnel in a “complex mission” by Israeli commandos acting on intelligence, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari told a news conference on Tuesday.
“He is alive and returning to Israel,” Hagari said.
Alqadi, a father of 11 from southern Rahat, an Arab Bedouin town in Israel’s southern quarter, was taken hostage during the October 7 Hamas attacks while working security at a packaging factory in Kibbutz Magen in southern Israel, the Homers and the Missing Families Forum said in a statement on Tuesday.
Full details of Alqadi’s rescue were not immediately clear, with the IDF and Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, saying in a statement on Tuesday that no further details could be released “due to the safety of our hostages, the security of our forces and our national security”.
They said Alqadi was in a stable condition and was taken to a hospital for medical checks. In a video shared by the IDF, Alkadi is seen wearing a tank top and smiling as he shakes hands with the commander of Shayetet 13, the Israeli navy’s commando unit.
The brother of freed Israeli hostage Qaid Alkadi shows a photo with him on his phone after meeting him at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva in southern Israel on August 27, 2024.
Menahem Kahana | Afp | Getty Images
In separate video shared with X by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, members of Alqadi’s family can be seen running to greet him at a medical facility.
Soroka University Medical Center said he was airlifted to hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
“He is fully conscious and in good general condition. He has already been reunited with a family member in a very emotional reunion,” the medical center said in a statement, adding: “We ask that we respect their privacy and dignity “.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke to Alqadi by phone after his rescue, his office said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The Prime Minister congratulated Farhan and told him that the entire Israeli people are excited about his release,” the statement said, adding that Netanyahu “made it clear in the conversation that he will continue to do everything to return all our abductees home their”.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday’s operation “joins a series of actions taken by the IDF that bring us closer to achieving the goals of this war.” He added that “Israel is committed to taking every opportunity to return the hostages to their homes.”
The bailout comes as Netanyahu faces mounting pressure in Israel and on the international stage to strike one ceasefire agreement with Hamas that would end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of the hostages still held there.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of those held hostage in Gaza, said Alqadi’s rescue was nothing short of miraculous.
Israeli hostage Qaed Farhan al-Qadi, 52, receives medical treatment at Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva, Israel on August 27, 2024, as the Israeli military claimed to have rescued him who has been held in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
GPO | Anadolu | Getty Images
But, the forum said, “we must remember: military operations alone cannot free the remaining 108 hostages, who have endured 326 days of abuse and terror.” The group called for a cease-fire agreement that would free the hostages.
Intensified efforts to negotiate a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas have begun, but so far have yielded no results.
In a statement, a spokesman for the US National Security Council said it welcomed Alqadi’s release.
“The United States remains determined to see all hostages held by Hamas, including American citizens, freed and reunited with their families,” the spokesman said. “We will continue to work tirelessly to finalize the ceasefire and hostage release agreement through the ongoing talks in Cairo and Doha.”
According to Israeli officials, more than 100 hostages are believed to remain in the captivity of Hamas after the October 7 attacks in which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others were held hostage in Gaza. At least a third of those still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.
Of the 108 hostages reported by the forum, at least four are people believed to have been held in Gaza since 2014. The rest are believed to have been taken hostage on October 7.
Dozens of hostages were released by Hamas during a temporary ceasefire in November, while four hostages, including a 26-year-old Noah Argamanithey were released by the Israeli forces with courage rescue operation in June that left a trail of death and destruction in its wake.
Three Israeli hostages, Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka, were accidentally shot and killed by IDF troops in December during a battle with Hamas in the Shijaiyah area of Gaza.
