Some Israelis are saying that the rescue of Kaid Farhan al-Qadi, a hostage held in Gaza since his abduction during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, is reminiscent of the "Miracle of Entebbe" where 102 hostages were rescued by 100 Israeli commandos on July 3-4, 1976.
The IDF described the rescue operation as "complex." As is customary, no details were released to the public about the operation.
What is known is that Mr. al-Qadi is back in the bosom of his family.
“Kaid’s return home is nothing short of miraculous,” the Hostages Families Forum, an organization that advocates for the relatives of hostages, said in a statement Tuesday.
Al-Qadi is the father of 11 children and was working as a security guard at a factory in Kibbutz Magen on Oct. 7 when Hamas terrorists abducted him. He was held for 326 days.
The Hostages Families Forum also said in its statement that “military operations alone cannot free the remaining 108 hostages,” and that the Israeli government should sign a deal with Hamas for the release of all remaining hostages.
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that at least 36 of the remaining hostages are already dead. Hamas refuses to give an accurate count of their prisoners, nor have they released the names of the living.
“We urgently call on the international community to maintain pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed deal and release all hostages,” the statement by the hostage group said. “Every single day in captivity is one too many. The remaining hostages cannot afford to wait for another such miracle.”
"This operation joins a series of actions taken by the IDF that bring us closer to achieving the goals of this war," [Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav] Gallant continued. "I would like to reiterate and emphasize: Israel is committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages home to Israel."
Qaid Farhan Alkadi from Rahat was reportedly rescued by a mixed company of Israeli combatants, including members of the 401st Brigade, 162nd Division, and Shayetet 13.
Members of the engineering combat spec-ops unit Yahalom and intelligence operatives from the Israel Security Agency also contributed to the rescue.
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If more than a handful of the hostages come home, I will be surprised. The cruelty of the terrorists requires that Israeli families suffer for the perceived sins of their government. Hamas has never hesitated to kill civilians, deliberately targeting children and women. It's their "way of war" and is drilled into them during training.
Those tunnels where the IDF found and liberated Mr. al-Qadi were built with at least some Western funds. Destroying that huge network of underground infrastructure should be a priority of the Israeli government before any civilian homes are rebuilt.