“It is in good condition” –

An Israeli hostage in Gaza has been rescued by the IDF, the army confirmed, specifying that the hostage is 52-year-old Qaid Farhan al-Qadi, a member of a Bedouin community near the southern city of Rahat. The man, who worked as a guard at a packaging factory in Kibbutz Magen on October 7, was kidnapped by Hamas in the nearby community of Mivtahim. He is reportedly in good health. Al-Qadi, who was freed after 326 days of captivity, was found alive inside a tunnel by commandos from the Navy’s elite Shayetet 13 unit. The operation was led by the IDF Southern Command, the Shin Bet and the IDF’s 162nd Division. According to the Times of Israel, 104 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 are believed to still be in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 of them confirmed dead by the army.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the operation to rescue the hostage was “courageous and complex” and based on accurate intelligence. “This morning, troops from Shayetet 13, the Yahalom unit and the Shin Bet rescued Farhan alive from a tunnel in southern Gaza,” he confirmed at a press conference. “The troops reached the area thanks to accurate intelligence,” he added.