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Rescued Bedouin hostage operated on without anesthetic, witnessed murder of captive

Farhan al-Qadi admitted he saw the murder of 86-year-old hostage Aryeh Zalmanovich beside him.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Farhan al-Qadi, the Bedouin hostage who was freed by the IDF from a Gaza tunnel on Tuesday described how his Hamas captors operated on him without anesthetic and how he witnessed the murder of a fellow captive.

Farhan al-Qadi told N12 that Hamas shot him on October 7th, and after taking him to Gaza, removed the bullet from his leg with no pain relief or sedation.

He said, “The surgery was done with almost no anesthesia, and it was extremely painful. At first, I was held in an room with other hostages, and there was very little food.”

al-Qadi recalls Hamas filming other hostages who were with him, including a dying captive. He admitted he saw the murder of Aryeh Zalmanovich beside him according to KAN.

He explained that he was allowed to bathe only once in a month and was kept in a tunnel in darkness so complete he couldn’t distinguish day from night.

al-Qadi said, “After about two months, the terrorists led me to a tunnel. I was by myself, surrounded only by the terrorists. I couldn’t tell the difference between day and night.”

He added, “The terrorists wore masks and gave me slices of bread to eat – there was very little food. It was pitch black, and I would place my hands over my eyes to make sure I could still see; it was that dark,” he told N12.

al-Qadi recounted his rescue, how the bombing intensified and how his Hamas captors left him a little bread to eat and fled the tunnel.

He also said that before escaping, the captors scattered explosive charges in the tunnel to draw the soldiers in further, with the intention of then blowing up the passageway.

The report did not say how he survived the two weeks alone.

As soon as he heard Hebrew, he responded the Hebrew, and he and the soldiers engaged in conversation so they could confirm it wasn’t a trap, and brought him to safety.