Israel says it rescued Bedouin hostage from Gaza tunnel after months in captivity

# Israel says it rescued Bedouin hostage from Gaza tunnel after months in captivity

Israeli forces said they recovered Kaid Farhan Elkadi from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza after more than 10 months in captivity, bringing home one of the hostages taken on Oct. 7.

The Israeli military and Shin Bet said commandos rescued Elkadi in a “complex operation” in the southern Gaza Strip. BBC reporting said he was found in an underground tunnel and that the operation relied on accurate intelligence. The military gave no detailed account of the raid, citing the safety of hostages and troops.

Elkadi, who is 52, is a Bedouin Arab from the Rahat area of the Negev desert. The BBC said he had worked for years as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen near the Gaza border, where he was abducted during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Officials said he is the eighth hostage rescued by Israeli forces since the war began.

Hospital photos released by Soroka Medical Center showed him speaking with relatives after the rescue. The BBC reported that he was in stable condition and undergoing examinations. It also said his brother described him as thin, but relieved to see him home.

The rescue landed amid a broader effort by Israel to combine military pressure and negotiations to bring back the remaining hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the government was working relentlessly to secure releases through both rescue operations and talks.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the rescue but warned that military operations alone cannot end the crisis. It argued that a negotiated deal is the only viable route for the remaining captives, while calling for continued international pressure on Hamas.

The context remains grim. The war in Gaza began after Hamas killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 hostages, according to the BBC’s summary. Since then, the Gaza health ministry has said more than 40,430 people have been killed in the territory.

The report also said U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators were still trying to broker a ceasefire arrangement involving the release of 104 hostages, including 34 who are presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Talks in Cairo had not yet broken the deadlock over major issues, including Israel’s demand to keep troops along the Gaza-Egypt border.

For Elkadi’s family, the rescue ended a long wait. For Israeli officials, it was a rare success inside a campaign that still has many hostages unaccounted for and no final settlement in sight.