Israel rescues unguarded hostage in Gaza tunnel

Relative of freed Israeli hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi shows photo from hospital

(Image credit: Menahem Kahana / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

Israeli naval commandos exploring Hamas' tunnel network under Gaza on Tuesday found and rescued one of the Israelis taken hostage in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a 52-year-old Bedouin Arab, was discovered alone and without Hamas guards, Israeli officials said.

Who said what

"Suddenly, I heard someone speaking Hebrew outside the door, I couldn't believe it," Alkadi told Israeli President Issac Herzog from the hospital. "Work 24 hours, don't sleep until" the other hostages are home. Israel says just over 100 hostages remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead. Alkadi is the eighth one rescued alive. Israel accidentally killed three hostages in December, mistaking them for Hamas militants.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari described Alkadi's rescue as part of a "complex and brave" operation, based on "precise intelligence." But two senior Israeli officials told The New York Times that commandos searching the tunnel were surprised to stumble upon Alkadi. They initially thought he was a "terrorist or somebody else," Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, a former deputy commander of Israel's Gaza division, said to The Washington Post. "Luckily they didn't shoot him."

What next?

Israeli security officials and hostage families "say a cease-fire deal is needed to free most of those who are still being held and that time is running out," The Wall Street Journal said.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.