IDF Releases Dramatic Rescue Video Of Hostage From Hamas Tunnel In Gaza | Watch

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has released a video capturing the dramatic rescue of Qaid Farhan Alkadi, an Israeli hostage who was freed from a tunnel in southern Gaza. Alkadi was among the scores of people abducted during Hamas’ attack on October 7 last year.

The footage, shared on X, shows him shaking hands with IDF Brigadier General Itzhik Cohen as he is rescued by the Israeli forces. In the video, Alkadi can be seen smiling widely and expressing his gratitude to Cohen and his team.

“WATCH the first moments of rescued hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi back on Israeli soil on his way to reunite with his family after 326 days in Hamas captivity,” the IDF wrote in one post shared on Tuesday.

Additional footage from the rescue operation captures Alkadi giving a thumbs-up to the soldiers as they proceed towards a military helicopter. The final segment shows him smiling as they transport him to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, Israel.

Alkadi is a member of the Bedouin community and a resident of Rahat, a predominantly Arab town in southern Israel.

The 52-year-old was among eight members of Israel’s Arab Bedouin minority who were abducted by Hamas militants. At the time, he was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities targeted in the attack. He is a father of 11 children and has two wives.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military announced that Alkadi had been rescued in Gaza following a “complex operation”, as the Israel-Hamas conflict, now in its 11th month, shows no signs of ending

“Kaid AlKadi was rescued… in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” the military said. “He is in a stable medical condition and is being transferred for medical checks to a hospital.”

(With inputs from agencies)