JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces rescued a hostage found alone underground in Gaza on Tuesday, freeing him alive from Hamas. Extensive subway network It was the first explosion since the October 7 attack War.
The 52-year-old Israeli man was taken to a hospital in Israel, where members of his large Bedouin Arab family were happily reunited at his bedside.
The rescue provided a rare reprieve for the Israelis after a 10-month war. Mediators try to broker a ceasefire In that they will be freed.
Kait Farhan Alqadi was found in the southern Gaza tunnels, where the hostages are suspected to be with militants and explosives.
“All of a sudden, I heard someone outside the door speaking Hebrew, and I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it,” Alkadi told Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a phone call from his hospital bed, according to the president’s office.
The army said it applied “lessons” learned during previous operations while recapturing Algadi. Earlier in the war, Israeli troops encountered three hostages inside Gaza, mistakenly shooting them dead, believing them to be terrorists.
Alkadi was one of eight members of Israel’s Bedouin Arab minority kidnapped on October 7. He worked as a guard at a baking factory in Kibbutz Magan, one of the many agricultural communities under attack. He had two wives and fathered 11 children.
AP reporter Joseph Federman reports that the IDF is not saying much about plans to free captive Kait Farhan Elkadi; But a recent operation has led to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians.
Israel believes there are still 108 hostages in Gaza, more than 40 of whom are dead. Most of the rest were released during a week-long ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Alkadi was one of eight hostages rescued alive and the first to be rescued from underground, the Israeli military said. According to Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Alkadi was held in multiple locations during his 326-day captivity.
Footage released by the Israeli military showed Alkadi moments after the rescue. Unshaven and wearing a white tank top, he sits and smiles with soldiers before being taken to a hospital by helicopter. He appeared emaciated, but officials described his condition as stable.
His extended family gathered at a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba to welcome him home.
One of his brothers was holding Alkadi’s infant son, who was born during his captivity and has yet to meet his father, the brother said.
“We’re so happy to hug him and see him and say we’re all with him,” a family member who gave his name as Faze told Channel 12. “I hope every hostage comes home so the families can experience this joy.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue was “part of the military’s bold and daring operations inside the Gaza Strip”.
President Herzog, in his phone call with Alkadi, told him: “Dear Farhan, how moving it is to hear your voice! Our brother has come home. Our brother is back! “
Herzog’s office said Burhan expressed his gratitude and urged Israeli authorities to release the others. “People are suffering there. Do everything you can to bring people home. Work 24 hours a day and don’t sleep until they come back. People are really suffering, you can’t imagine,” he said, according to a transcript of the call provided by Herzog’s office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Alkadi by phone upon his arrival at the hospital. He said Israel would rely on rescue operations and negotiations to bring the remaining hostages home.
“Both ways together require our military presence in the field, and relentless military pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
Alkadi, who refers to Netanyahu by his traditional Arabic nickname, thanked the prime minister for allowing him to see his family again, according to a video of the call released by Netanyahu’s office.
“Others are waiting,” Alcadi reminded Netanyahu. To which Netanyahu replied, “We don’t forget anyone, we don’t forget you.”
The Israeli military released footage of Alkadi being taken away by helicopter after his rescue. He smiled and saluted the helicopter as it flew by.
Hamas-led militants abducted around 250 people in an October 7 attack that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Israel’s retaliatory attacks have killed 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who did not say how many were killed by militants. It has driven 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused widespread destruction across the besieged territory.
Israeli airstrikes continued across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and Palestinian officials said the strikes killed at least 18 people, including eight children.
Scores of Palestinians were killed in two previous Israeli operations to free the hostages. Hamas says many of the hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops Accidentally killed three Israelis Escaped from prison in December.
Mazen Abu Siam, a close family friend who is waiting at the hospital, said the family was overjoyed to hear the news, but they were still praying for a ceasefire.
“We are waiting for a one-year contract,” Siam told The Associated Press.
The United States, Egypt, and Qatar have spent several months Trying to negotiate an agreement The remaining hostages will be released in exchange for a lasting ceasefire. Those talks are ongoing, but there is no sign of progress.
Netanyahu faced heavy criticism A deal has yet to be made with Hamas to bring the hostages home from their families and most of the Israeli public.
Hamas hopes to trade the hostages for a lasting ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of scores of Palestinian prisoners, including high-ranking fighters.
Last week, after the Israeli army The bodies of six hostages were recovered In southern Gaza, Israel’s military spokesman Hagari said the military was working to gather more intelligence for rescue operations. But he added that not all can be recovered through rescue operations alone.
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Julia Frankel reports from Jerusalem.
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