Gaza: Israeli army announces having rescued a hostage

The Israeli army announced on Tuesday that it had rescued Kaid Farhan Alkadi, a Bedouin from southern Israel who was being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, during a “complex operation” in the south of the Palestinian territory.

“The army and the Shin Bet,” the Israeli internal intelligence service, “rescued the hostage Kaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, from Rahat,” a Bedouin town in the Negev desert, “who was kidnapped by the terrorist organization Hamas and taken to the Gaza Strip on October 7,” the army said in a statement.

The military did not provide further details on the operation, citing “the safety of hostages, military forces and national security.”

Kaid Farhan Alkadi was working as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen, which borders the Gaza Strip, when he was abducted on October 7, according to the Hostages’ Families Forum. “His health condition is good and he has been transferred to an Israeli hospital,” said David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog hailed the “successful rescue” and called her release “a happy moment for the State of Israel and Israeli society,” according to a statement from his office.

104 hostages still being held

Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 104 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army. “The other hostages cannot afford to wait for another miracle of this kind (…) a negotiated agreement is the only way forward,” the Hostages’ Families Forum argued on Tuesday.

“We call on the international community to maintain pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement and release all hostages,” the statement added.

Negotiations are underway between Israel and Hamas through Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators to reach a ceasefire in Gaza accompanied by the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

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