The Israeli military on Tuesday said that it had rescued a hostage abducted by the Hamas during October 7 attack which killed over 1,200 people and abducted nearly 250.
Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, is an Arab citizen of Israel and was rescued “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” according to the military.
Hamas is currently holding over 110 hostages, with around a third believed to be dead, AP reported.Most of the remaining hostages were released during a cease-fire last November in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.
The United States, Egypt, and Qatar have been working for months to negotiate an agreement for the release of the remaining hostages in return for a lasting cease-fire.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that negotiations in Cairo for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal are ongoing. He added that discussions will continue at the working-group level over the next few days to resolve specific issues.
“The talks actually progressed to a point where they felt like the next logical step was to have working groups at lower levels to sit down to hammer out these finer details,” Kirby said.
After the October 7 attack, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians, though the number of fighters among them is unspecified. The conflict has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and caused extensive destruction throughout the besieged territory.