The Israeli military has announced the successful rescue of a Bedouin Arab hostage, Kaid Farhan Elkadi, who was kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th attack on Israel. Elkadi, 52, was rescued from an underground tunnel in Gaza in what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet domestic security service described as a "complex operation" in the southern Gaza Strip.
Details about the operation remain limited due to concerns for the safety of other hostages, the security of Israeli forces, and national security. Elkadi, the eighth hostage rescued by Israeli forces since the start of the conflict, is currently in stable condition and undergoing medical examinations at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. Photographs show him speaking with family members while seated in a hospital chair.
His brother, Hatam, described him as "a little thin" but expressed relief and joy at his return, stating, "We've been waiting for this moment for a long time. We hope that all hostages will get this moment, that they will all experience the same excitement and joy. May all the hostages return, and may all the families feel this feeling."
Elkadi, a father of 11 and grandfather of one, hails from a Bedouin village in the Rahat area of the Negev desert. He had worked as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen, near the Israel-Gaza border, where he was abducted 10 months ago.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed the rescue in a video statement, though he provided few details about the operation. He did share that Elkadi was rescued from an underground tunnel following precise intelligence. Footage released by the IDF shows Elkadi smiling and speaking with soldiers, including the commander of the 162nd Division, shortly after his rescue. According to Haaretz, Elkadi managed to escape his captors before being rescued, and soldiers sought to determine whether he had been held with other hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Elkadi in a phone call, expressing the nation’s emotional response to the news. "We are working relentlessly to return all of our hostages," Netanyahu stated, emphasizing that this effort involves both negotiations and rescue operations, which require a continued military presence on the ground.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described Elkadi's rescue as "miraculous" but cautioned that military efforts alone would not be sufficient to free the remaining hostages, who have endured 326 days of captivity. The forum urged for a negotiated deal, calling on the international community to pressure Hamas into accepting an agreement that would lead to the release of all hostages.
The Israeli military's campaign against Hamas began in response to the unprecedented October 7th attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the capture of 251 hostages. Since then, over 40,430 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Meanwhile, U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari mediators are working to broker a ceasefire deal that could see Hamas release the 104 remaining hostages, including 34 who are presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Indirect negotiations in Cairo have yet to produce a breakthrough, with key sticking points including Netanyahu's demand for Israeli troops to remain along Gaza's border with Egypt—a condition Hamas rejects.
Among the remaining hostages are two other Bedouin Arabs, Yousef Zyadna and his son Hamza, while the body of another, Mhamad el-Atrash, is still held by Hamas. Additionally, Hisham al-Sayed, another Bedouin, has been held captive in Gaza since 2015.
