Special Forces Found Hostage Alone in Tunnel

Farhan Alkadi is the first to be rescued alive from Hamas tunnel network
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 27, 2024 4:11 PM CDT
Israeli Troops Found Hostage Alone in Tunnel
In this photo released by Israeli Defense Forces on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, Qaid Farhan Alkadi sits on an Israeli military helicopter during the rescue operation.   (Israeli Defense Forces via AP)

The Israeli hostage brought back from Gaza alive on Tuesday is the first to be rescued from Hamas' extensive tunnel network under the territory—and he was apparently freed without a fight. The Times of Israel reports that Israeli special forces found 52-year-old Farhan Alkadi alone, with no Hamas fighters or other hostages nearby.

  • Found "by chance." The New York Times, citing senior Israeli officials speaking on condition of anonymity, reports that Alkadi was found by chance in a room 25 yards underground as special forces searched the tunnel network for Hamas fighters. It's not clear why he had apparently been abandoned by his captors.

  • "I couldn't believe it." "Suddenly, I heard someone speaking Hebrew outside the door, I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe it," Alkadi told Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a call from the hospital, per the AP. Referring to other hostages, he told the president, "People are suffering every second, every second. You must do everything to bring the people back home."
  • A son he'd never seen. The AP reports that members of Alkadi's large Bedouin Arab family gathered at the hospital. One of his brothers held Alkadi infant son, his 11th child, who was born while Alkadi was in captivity.
  • The eighth rescued hostage. CNN reports that Alkadi is the eighth hostage to be rescued alive by the Israeli military since the Oct. 7 attacks. The other seven were rescued from locations above ground.
  • Months in darkness. Ataa Abu Al-Mudaygham, the former mayor of Rahat, said Alkadi told him he had been held in almost total darkness for months. "What he described was terrible captivity," Al-Mudaygham said. "His eyes were still struggling to adjust from seeing the light."
(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X