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‘Brave and Complex’: How IDF located and freed hostage from Gaza tunnel

Israeli Navy’s Shayetet 13 and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit carried out the operation.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

On Tuesday, IDF special forces freed Bedouin hostage Farhan al-Qadi from a tunnel in Gaza.

The IDF Southern Command, the Israeli security agency Shin Bet, and the IDF 162nd Division headed the operation.

Israeli Navy’s Shayetet 13 and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit carried out the operation.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari described the operation as “brave and complex” and “based on precise intelligence” but did not describe it, adding, “We must keep this operation confidential to avoid jeopardizing future efforts.”

“The operation was intelligence-driven, executed by mission-focused forces on the ground. We questioned Farhan in the field for initial information and will share more as we learn,” Hagari continued.

Farhan al-Qadi, a Bedouin Israeli, is 52 years old with 11 children, the youngest of whom is one year old.

He was from the city of Rahat, worked as a security guard at a factory in Kibbutz Magen, and was abducted from the nearby community of Mivtahim.

Hagari denied earlier reports that al-Qadi first escaped his captors and left the tunnel, adding that troops “rescued Farhan from underground; he met our forces underground.”

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The IDF spokesperson also said the mission didn’t happen by chance, although there wasn’t a plan to rescue al-Qadi specifically.

The IDF had been operating in southern Gaza with indications that hostages were being held there. Shayetet 13 commandos and Shin Bet agents were searching a tunnel and found al-Qadi.

According to intelligence, al-Qadi wasn’t held in the tunnel for the entire 10 months of captivity but was moved by Hamas captors several times.

The IDF is hopeful that al-Qadi can provide more information that will lead to further successful hostage liberation missions.

The operation is the fourth successful IDF hostage rescue mission, and in total, 8 captives have been recovered through military operations.

The mission was the first to take place underground, as the other rescue missions were from buildings.

Al-Qadi is reportedly in good condition, although he lost much weight in captivity. He is being treated at Soroka Hospital in Beersheva.