Israeli security forces stand guard while family and friends of released Israeli hostage Qaidi Alqadi gather to meet him outside the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva, southern Israel, where he came for a checkup on August 27, 2024. | Photo credit: AFP
The Israeli military said it rescued an Israeli hostage from Gaza on Tuesday (August 27, 2024) after a “complex operation”, as the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 11th month, shows no signs of abating.
Kaid al-Qadi, a 52-year-old Israeli Bedouin, was kidnapped by Palestinian militants during a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the army said in a statement.
“Qaid al-Qadi was rescued during a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” the army said.
“His condition is stable and he is being sent to hospital for medical examination.”
Mr. Alqadi, a resident of the predominantly Arab city of Rahat, was captured by militants on October 7 while working as a guard at a warehouse in southern Israel.
“We are committed to taking every opportunity to return the hostages to their homes,” Defense Minister Yoav Galant said in a statement carried by XTV.
The Israeli campaign group Hostage & Missing Families Forum said Mr Alkadi’s rescue was “miraculous”.
“However, we must remember that a military operation alone cannot secure the release of the remaining hostages, who have suffered abuse and terror for 326 days,” it said, stressing that only a ceasefire can ensure the return of the other hostages.
“A negotiated settlement is the only way forward,” he said.
“We urgently urge the international community to maintain pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed agreement and release all hostages,” it said.
Asked about the hostage-taking demands for a settlement in an online briefing, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said: “That’s what we’re doing through diplomacy, but also through military means. “It’s clear that Hamas only takes these negotiations seriously if there’s military pressure on them. We know that’s true.”
On October 7, militants launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israeli communities, resulting in the deaths of 1,199 people, most of them civilians, according to one report. AFP This figure is based on official Israeli data.
The militants also took 251 people captive, 104 of whom are still being held in Gaza, 34 of whom the military says are dead.
Since then, at least 40,476 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s retaliatory military campaign, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, most of the dead are women and children.
Ceasefire negotiations
Meanwhile, the United States on Monday (August 26, 2024) sounded optimistic regarding efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages.
Their fate depends on ceasefire talks ongoing in Cairo, where their relatives and supporters are pressuring the Israeli government through weekly protests demanding their return home.
In Washington, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday (August 26, 2024) that “progress continues” and that talks would continue and involve “working groups” over several days.
A key issue in the talks has been Israel’s insistence on maintaining control of the so-called Philadelphia Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border to prevent Hamas from rearming, which the militant group has refused to accept.
Cairo, which is mediating the talks with Qatar and the United States, insisted on Monday (August 26, 2024) that it “would not accept any Israeli presence” on the corridor, according to Egyptian state news. Al-Qahera The news gave this information quoting a high-level source.
The war that has been going on for more than 10 months has so far had only one ceasefire, which began on November 24 and lasted for a week.
During this period, 105 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.