An Israeli hostage, Qaid Farhan al-Qadi, was rescued from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip earlier today, according to an announcement from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Al-Qadi, a 52-year-old resident of a Bedouin community near Rahat, was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen when he was abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
Successful Rescue Operation
Al-Qadi was found inside a tunnel by the elite Shayetet 13 unit of the Navy, with the operation led by the IDF Southern Command, the Shin Bet security agency, and the IDF’s 162nd Division. The IDF described the rescue as “complex” but confirmed that al-Qadi is in good health and is being transported to a hospital for additional checkups.
Hostage Situation Update
The IDF reports that there are now 104 hostages remaining in Gaza out of the 251 abducted by Hamas on October 7. This figure includes 34 confirmed deceased hostages. Earlier, during a weeklong truce in late November, Hamas released 105 civilians. Before that, four hostages had been released, and eight others were rescued alive by IDF troops. Additionally, the bodies of 30 hostages have been recovered, three of whom were mistakenly killed by the military during an attempted escape.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014.
The IDF has stated that further details about the rescue operation cannot be disclosed at this time “due to issues of the security of our hostages, the security of our forces, and the security of the state.”
Israeli Hostage Qaid Farhan al-Qadi Rescued from Gaza Tunnel by IDF world-news World News | Latest International News | Global World News | World News Today
