JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Tuesday that it has rescued one of the scores of people abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.
The rescue brought a rare moment of joy to Israelis amid months of grinding war but also another painful reminder of the scores of hostages remaining in captivity despite international efforts to broker a cease-fire agreement in which they would be released.
The military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi was rescued from a tunnel “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” without providing further details. It was not immediately known if the rescue was made under fire or if anyone was killed or wounded during the operation.
The 52-year-old was one of eight members of Israel’s Arab Bedouin minority who were abducted on Oct. 7. He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that came under attack. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.
Israel’s Channel 12 showed Alkadi’s family members sprinting through the hospital where he was brought after they received the news.
His brother, Hatem, told reporters they saw him disembark from a helicopter and walk to the ambulance that took him to a nearby hospital for medical checks. Israeli media ran a photo of Alkadi appearing gaunt but smiling with his family.
“We’re so excited to hug him and see him and tell him that we’re all here with him,” a family…
