JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces rescued a hostage found alone underground in Gaza on Tuesday and freed a live captive from Hamas jails. extensive tunnel network For the first time since the October 7 attack that sparked the crisis War.
The 52-year-old Israeli was taken to a hospital in Israel, where his extended Bedouin Arab family gathered around his bed in a joyful reunion.
The rescue brought a rare moment of relief to Israelis after 10 months of war but was also a painful reminder that dozens of hostages remain in captivity as the United Nations calls for a ceasefire. Mediators are trying to broker a ceasefire. Where they will be released.
The Israeli army said that the commander, Farhan al-Qadi, was found in a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip where hostages were suspected to be held along with gunmen and explosives.
“Suddenly I heard someone speaking Hebrew outside the door, I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it,” the judge told Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a phone call from his hospital bed, according to the president’s office.
The military said it applied “lessons” learned from previous operations in rescuing the judge. Earlier in the war, Israeli soldiers mistakenly shot three hostages inside Gaza, believing them to be militants.
Al-Qadi was one of eight members of Israel’s Bedouin Arab minority who were kidnapped on October 7. He worked as a guard at a packaging factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several agricultural communities attacked. He is married to two women and has 11 children.
The Israeli Defense Forces is saying little about its plan to free captive Kayed Farhan al-Qadi, Associated Press correspondent Joseph Federman reported, but a recent operation has killed dozens of Palestinians.
Israel believes there are 108 hostages still being held in Gaza and that more than 40 of them have died. Most of the rest were released during a week-long ceasefire in November in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.
The Israeli military said al-Qadi was one of eight hostages rescued alive, and the first to be rescued from underground. Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said al-Qadi was held in a number of locations during his 326-day captivity.
A video released by the Israeli military showed the judge moments after the rescue. He was sitting and smiling with soldiers before being taken by helicopter to hospital. He appeared frail but officials described his condition as stable.
His extended family gathered at the hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba to welcome him home.
The judge said one of his brothers was holding his infant son, who was born while he was in captivity and had not yet met his father.
“We are so excited to hug him and see him and tell him that we are all here with him,” a family member who gave his name as Faiz told Channel 12. “I hope that every hostage comes home so that the families can experience this happiness.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the rescue operation was part of the “daring and courageous activities the army is carrying out deep inside the Gaza Strip.”
In a phone call with the judge, President Herzog said: “Dear Farhan, how touching it is to hear your voice! Our brother has returned home. Our brother has returned!”
Herzog’s office said Farhan expressed his gratitude and urged Israeli authorities to work to free the others. “People are suffering there. Do everything you can to get people back home. Work 24 hours a day, don’t sleep until they get back. People are really suffering, you can’t imagine,” he said, according to a transcript of the call provided by Herzog’s office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke to the judge by phone shortly after he arrived at the hospital. He said Israel would rely on rescue operations and negotiations to return the remaining hostages home.
Netanyahu added: “Both paths require our military presence on the ground, and continued military pressure on Hamas.”
Referring to Netanyahu by a traditional Arab title, the judge thanked the prime minister for enabling him to see his family again, according to a video of the call provided by Netanyahu’s office.
The judge reminded Netanyahu that there were others waiting, to which Netanyahu replied: “We have not forgotten anyone, just as we have not forgotten you.”
The Israeli military released footage of the judge being airlifted by helicopter after his rescue. The judge saluted and smiled as the helicopter circled overhead.
Hamas militants kidnapped about 250 people in the October 7 attack, which killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
The Israeli retaliatory assault has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who have not specified how many of them were militants. It has also displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused widespread destruction across the besieged territory.
Israeli air strikes continued on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, with Palestinian officials saying at least 18 people, including eight children, were killed in the attacks.
Two previous Israeli hostage rescues killed dozens of Palestinians. Hamas says many of the hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Three Israelis killed by mistake Who escaped from captivity in December.
Mazen Abu Siam, a close family friend who was waiting at the hospital, said the family was overjoyed when they heard the news, but they were still praying for a ceasefire.
“We have been waiting for a year for an agreement,” Siam told The Associated Press.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to negotiate an agreement These talks include the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire. These talks are still ongoing, but there has been no sign of any progress.
Netanyahu faced severe criticism. On the part of the hostages’ families and a large part of the Israeli public, they are disappointed that no agreement has yet been reached with Hamas to return them home.
Hamas hopes to exchange the hostages for a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including prominent militants.
Last week, after the Israeli military attack Bodies of six hostages recovered In southern Gaza, Israeli military spokesman Hagari said the army was working to gather more intelligence for rescue operations. But he added, “We cannot bring everyone back through rescue operations alone.”
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Julia Frankel contributed reporting from Jerusalem.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war on https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war