Israeli military rescues hostage held by Hamas in southern Gaza in 'complex rescue operation'
27 August 2024, 15:40
An Israeli hostage held by Hamas in southern Gaza has been rescued following a "complex operation", the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has said.
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The Israeli military says it has rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi on Tuesday, after he was abducted by Hamas on October 7 last year.
The IDF said Mr Alkadi was rescued "in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip" involving IDF troops and the Shin Bet domestic security service. It did not provide further details.
Mr Alkadi is in a stable medical condition and has been taken to a hospital to undergo medical checks.
The 52-year-old is from Israel's Arab Bedouin minority and works as a security guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.
Israel has rescued a total of eight hostages since the start of the war, including in two operations that killed hundreds of Palestinians. Hamas says several hostages have been killed in Israeli air strikes and failed rescue attempts.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack, during which around 1,200 people were killed.
Israel's attacks on Gaza since the start of the war have killed in excess of 40,000 Palestinians, including almost 17,000 children.
It has displaced 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people from their homes and caused heavy destruction across the besieged territory.
Hamas is still holding around 110 hostages, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Most of the rest were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a four-day ceasefire last November.
The US, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to negotiate an agreement in which the remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for a lasting ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced intense criticism from families of the hostages and much of the Israeli public for not yet reaching a deal with Hamas to bring them home.
