Hostage rescued in Gaza has a message on other captives: 'People are suffering'
A hostage taken by Hamas-led militants during the Oct. 7 rampage into Israel that ignited the war in Gaza was freed following a "complex rescue operation" in southern Gaza, the Israeli military said Tuesday.
Military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Qaid Farhan Alkadi's medical condition was "normal." Video released by the military shows Alkadi smiling and laughing with commandos after his rescue and later with family and medical personnel at an Israeli hospital.
Hagari said Alkadi, a member of Israel's Arab Bedouin minority, was alone when rescued from an underground tunnel thanks to extensive intelligence on the location. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Alkadi, 52, "was able to free himself," but Hagari said troops “rescued Farhan from underground, he met our forces underground.”
Alkadi later told Israeli President Isaac Herzog the other hostages "are suffering."
About 250 people were taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack, and more than 100 of them remain in the hands of militants, though many are believed to be dead. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians taken in 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
The forum, which has frequently criticized the Israeli government for failing to reach an agreement to free the captives, said in a statement that it welcomed the rescue but that a deal remains necessary.
“The wonderful news of his return is a sign of light amongst the darkness for the families of the hostages and the people of Israel," the statement said. "A deal is the only way to secure the return of the remaining 108 hostages ? the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial."
Developments:
? Israel has issued several evacuation orders across Gaza, the most since the beginning of the 10-month-long war, prompting an outcry from Palestinians, the United Nations and relief officials over the reduction of humanitarian zones and the absence of safe areas. "The conditions in Gaza yesterday made it extremely, extremely difficult for us to do our work," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday, when aid operations resumed.
? Negotiations for a cease-fire that would include release of some or all of the remaining hostages are moving from Cairo to Doha, Qatar, authorities said.
? The Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which was subjected to a Houthi attack that left it on fire and required evacuation of its crew last week, now appears to be leaking oil into the Red Sea, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
? Israel struck a pickup truck carrying military equipment in northeast Lebanon late Tuesday, Reuters reported. On Sunday, Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah exchanged some of their most intense fire since the war in Gaza started.
Alkadi: 'You can't imagine' hostages' suffering
Alkadi, speaking with Herzog, said he was "very grateful to the State of Israel, to the army" for his rescue but urged the government to "do everything to bring people home.”
"Twenty-four hours without sleep, people are suffering, suffering you can’t imagine," he told Herzog in a conversation released by the president's office and translated by the Times of Israel. Alkadi said when he heard “Hebrew outside the door, I couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe it.”
Alkadi credited the Israeli military with doing “holy work," and said they "risked their lives, did everything to rescue me.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Alkadi via phone, telling him, “the whole nation of Israel is excited by his rescue,” his office said in a statement. Alkadi thanked Netanyahu for the rescue, the prime minister's office said.
Who is Qaid Farhan Alkadi?
Alkadi was one of six Bedouins seized by Hamas on Oct. 7. He lives with his family in an unincorporated village south of Rahat, according to Israeli media, and has two wives and 11 children. His brother, Hathem, told Ynetnews that Alkadi had lost weight but appeared healthy. He is the eighth hostage to be rescued alive from the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war.
"We are happy we saw him and saw him alive, first and foremost," Hathem said. "He asked about his family, if his kids were OK and his mother was OK."
Israel's Channel 12 showed Alkadi's family members sprinting through the hospital where he was brought after they received the news. Rahat Mayor Talal al-Kernawi met Alkadi, describing him as being in good spirits and overjoyed to be home.
“We’re all happy that Farhan is back, we can see the color coming back to his face, he’s finally seeing sun, seeing light,” he said.
'This is a long recovery process'
The head of the medical and resilience team of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum called the rescue “a ray of light.” But professor Hagai Levine added that the health condition of the other hostages remains unknown.
"Clearly there is no possible way to rescue them all by military operations," Levine said. "After a few days (back home), they start to realize what they’ve been through. This is a long recovery process.”
US ready if Iran retaliates against Israel, White House's Kirby says
White House national security spokesman John Kirby reiterated Tuesday the U.S. will be "prepared to defend Israel'' if Iran seeks retaliation for the July killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which Tehran has vowed to pursue.
Speaking to Israel's Channel 12, Kirby said the Biden administration has discouraged an Iranian response that might escalate tensions between the longtime rivals.
"We believe that they are still postured and poised to launch an attack should they want to do that,'' Kirby said, "which is why we have that enhanced force posture in the region."
That includes two aircraft-carrier strike groups in the Middle East and an extra squadron of F-22 fighter jets.
Kirby also told the Times of Israel imposing sanctions on Israelis who attack Palestinians in the occupied West Bank "remains a viable tool going forward,” after assaults by settlers resulted in two deaths in the last week.
Polio vaccininations for Gaza kids could start soon
UNICEF said it hopes to begin administering polio vaccinations to children in Gaza on Saturday if conditions on the ground permit. Over 640,000 kids are being targeted for the vaccine, and 1.2 million doses arrived in the enclave this week, the agency said. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said Monday that U.N. agencies and partners “stand ready to vaccinate children" but urged the warring parties to commit to a "humanitarian pause" so the effort could be conducted safely.
A case of polio was confirmed in Gaza last week in a 10-month-old child who was in stable condition after developing paralysis in the lower left leg, UNICEF said. It was the first instance of the lifelong crippling disease in over 25 years. Though there is no cure, but vaccines against the disease can provide protection for life.
Hamas urges West Bank Palestinians to 'escalate confrontations'
Hamas leaders on Tuesday urged Palestinians living in the West Bank to escalate tensions with Israeli settlers following the killing of an Arab man in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory. Hamas pressed Palestinians to rally at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and called for a day of “anger and mobilization” in the West Bank.
"We also call on our valiant resistance and our revolutionary youth in the occupied West Bank to escalate their confrontations with the criminal enemy and its settler gangs," the Hamas statement said.
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Iran willing to discuss nuclear deal with US
Iran’s supreme leader said he was willing to reopen negotiations with the U.S over Tehran's nuclear program but warned reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian that the U.S. can't be trusted. A 2015 agreement had capped Iran's nuclear enrichment in return for eased economic sanctions, but the U.S. under President Donald Trump exited the agreement three years later. Now U.S. officials have warned that Iran is rapidly approaching the capability to produce nuclear weapons.
"We should not wait for approval by the enemies," Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a video message. "It is not contradictory to engage the same enemy in some places, there’s no barrier.”
Hezbollah-Israeli clash may ease tensions, US general says
The massive clash that saw hundreds of Hezbollah rockets fired into Israel, which sent more than 100 jets into Lebanon to destroy militant targets, appears to have fueled no immediate escalation in violence, a sign that the near-term risk of an expanded war in the Middle East has eased, the top U.S. general says.
However, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Reuters that Iran remained a wild card that could ignite an expanded conflict across the Middle East. Iran has vowed to retaliate for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month
"How Iran responds will dictate how Israel responds, which will dictate whether there is going to be a broader conflict or not," Brown said.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israeli hostage rescued in southern Gaza by military