Israel’s military said on Tuesday it had rescued a 52-year-old hostage held by Hamas since October 7, in a “complex operation” in southern Gaza.
Farhan Al-Qadi, a Bedouin Israeli citizen from Rahat in southern Israel, was rescued from a tunnel in southern Gaza by Israeli forces, an Israeli military spokesman told CNN.
“He is in a stable medical condition and is being transferred for medical checks at a hospital,” the Israel Defense Forces, IDF, noted in a statement.
“His family has been updated with the details, and the IDF is accompanying them,” it noted.
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Israeli special forces, acting on intelligence, were combing a network of tunnels in southern Gaza when they found Al-Qadi, two Israeli military officials told CNN. Al-Qadi was alone, without his Hamas captors, when Israeli forces found him, one of the officials said.
“I can’t explain these feelings. It’s better than being born again,” Al-Qadi’s brother, Khatem, said as he stood outside the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva, in a video released by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
“We say thank you to everyone and we hope Farhan is good and healthy. We’re very happy,” he said.
Al-Qadi is the eighth hostage to be rescued alive in Gaza by the Israeli military since the beginning of the war, in four separate operations. But it marks the first time a hostage has been reclaimed alive from inside Hamas’ sprawling tunnel network underneath Gaza, the IDF told CNN.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Al-Qadi, in a conversation released on video by his office. “Farhan, I am so happy to talk to you,” Netanyahu says in the video. I want you to know that we do not forget anyone, just as we did not forget you.”
“I’m happy too. I’ve been waiting for this moment,” the former hostage told the prime minister.
The Hostages Families Forum, which campaigns for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, celebrated the return of the father of 11.
“Kaid’s return home is nothing short of miraculous.
“However, we must remember: military operations alone cannot free the remaining 108 hostages, who have suffered 326 days of abuse and terror,” it added.
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