Bedouin Israeli hostage freed in Gaza in military operation

Israeli security forces rescued Tuesday from the south of the Gaza Strip Bedouin Israeli hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi, who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7. 

A joint statement published by the Israeli military and the Shin Bet said Alkadi was rescued from southern Gaza in an operation conducted by Israeli navy elite unit Shayetet 13, the 401st Brigade and fighters from the military police and Shin Bet, all under the command of Division 162, in what was described as "a complex rescue operation."

The statement further noted that no more details about the operation can be revealed "because of issues related to the safety of the hostages, the safety of our troops and national security." Alkadi is in good condition, but he was transferred to a hospital for further medical examination, a hospital statement said.

Alkadi, who has 11 children, lives in the Bedouin city of Rahat in the southern district of the Negev Desert. He was kidnapped while working at Kibbutz Magen near the border with the Gaza Strip.

Alkadi was one of six Bedouin Israelis held by Hamas in Gaza. One of them, Samer Fuad al-Talalka who was abducted Oct. 7 from Kibbutz Nir Am, was killed together with two other hostages in the northern Gaza neighborhood of Shujaiya when Israeli soldiers mistook them for Hamas attackers. Josef Alzyadana and his son Hamzah Alzyadana were taken Oct. 7 from Kibbutz Holit, where they worked in agriculture, together with Josef's two younger children, Bilal and Aisha, who were freed Dec. 2 as part of the hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. The sixth Bedouin held by Hamas is Hisham al-Sayed, a civilian with mental illness who entered Gaza in 2015.

On Oct. 7, Hamas' attack into southern Israel killed nearly 1,200 people and 240 more were abducted. Israel's retaliatory attack on Gaza has left more than 40,000 Palestinians dead.