Israeli military says hostage rescued from Gaza tunnel in 'complex operation'
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00:00Joining me now from Jerusalem is our correspondent Iris Makler. Iris,
00:04what more can you tell us about this rescue?
00:07I can tell you that it was a joint operation of Israel's security services,
00:11its intelligence service that is, and the military. They were operating in that area,
00:16somewhere between Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. And during that operation,
00:22they went into a tunnel and rescued Farhan Mohammed Al-Qadi. What's interesting is that
00:29this is the eighth rescue of a living hostage, but the first one who was actually below ground
00:34in a tunnel when he was rescued. We know that they kept him there for a little while asking
00:39him questions. They could see that his medical condition and his mental condition was good
00:44enough for him to answer questions, perhaps about what else was going on in that tunnel,
00:48who else was being held in that tunnel. Then they took him back into Israel, back to the hospital,
00:54where honestly, the scenes of joy as his family were running through that hospital. He is a man
01:01in his 50s, father of 11, one of nine or 10 brothers. Everybody, all the male members of
01:07the family at any rate, converging on the hospital. They're only seeing him one by one
01:11because he's still so shell-shocked, but so joyful, so happy to see them. I heard an interview with a
01:18friend of his who's a vet who treated Farhan Al-Qadi's animals. He said that he's 50 years
01:25old and he's never known a day of greater joy. He could barely speak for joy. Farhan in Arabic
01:32means joyful, blessed, happy. I think that's the feeling in his family, in his clan, in the
01:38Bedouin community, and I think throughout Israel today. Indeed, a rad, joyful moment in this war,
01:45Iris. Let's talk about some of the other hostages, though, that remain in Gaza because
01:50there has been a statement from the hostages' families. They are, of course, welcoming this
01:56news today, but they say the only way to rescue those who remain in Gaza is with a deal.
02:04That's right. That's what they are saying because it's a very human reaction. The joy
02:08at seeing someone emerge from the Gaza Strip and emerge alive, and then that feeling,
02:14that gut punch, that it isn't your family, your brother, your sister, your grandson,
02:19your granddaughter. That's a very human reaction. What they want is a deal because they believe,
02:25they say, that a deal will rescue the largest amount of hostages, not a drip, drip, drip like
02:30this. It must be said, Nadia, that most of the hostages who have been rescued in operations
02:35have actually, it's been a retrieval operation. It's been bodies coming out, not human survivors.
02:43That's one issue. The other issue is what is happening, actually, at the place where a deal
02:48is being discussed. That's in Cairo. I'm sorry to tell you that there aren't very many optimistic
02:54reports. We are hearing leaks from people who are there, people who are close to people who are
02:59there. It seems that it's still that same obstacle, Hamas wanting all of Israeli troops to
03:07leave the Gaza Strip and Israel saying some of the troops must stay. It's not even a discussion,
03:13actually, about which hostages will be released and which Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged.
03:18From what I understand, it's actually that point of principle, but Washington believes that it's
03:22definitely worth going ahead. If you speak to people here and civilians in Gaza who are sick
03:28of this war, I think it's very relevant for them too. Iris Mackler in Jerusalem. Thank you.