Israeli Hostage Rescued from Gaza Tunnel

The Israeli army released a video that it said showed Qaid Farhan Alkadi, an Israeli hostage the military said was rescued from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

Video showed a military helicopter landing at a hospital to receive the 52 year-old, who spent more than 10 months in captivity after he was abducted by Hamas-led gunmen on Oct. 7.

Dr. Shlomi Codish of the Soroka Medical Center said Alkadi was in stable condition.

"He underwent initial evaluation in our emergency department. He appears to be in general good condition, but will require another day or two of medical tests to make sure he is still ok," he added.

Military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Alkadi was recovered in "a complex rescue operation" from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza.

He gave no other details of the operation, citing the security of the remaining hostages and Israeli forces.

The operation was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he had spoken with Alkadi.

He added that Israel would work "tirelessly" to return the more than 100 hostages still in Gaza back home.

Ismail Alkadi, the brother of the rescued hostage, spoke to reporters outside the hospital:

"Can't express my feelings. I hope my mother will be happier than us. We prayed for him, my mother prayed for him more, her prayer reached the sky.”

Alkadi was taken hostage in Kibbutz Magen, one of a string of communities around the Gaza Strip that were attacked by Hamas-led fighters on Oct. 7.

More than 250 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in the attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed.

Since then, Israel's military has leveled much of the Gaza Strip and displaced most of the 2.3 million population.

And Palestinian health authorities say more than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces.