Israeli hostage held by Hamas 'miraculously' freed in 'complex' operation in Gaza

The Israeli military says it has rescued a hostage from Gaza who was among scores of people abducted by Hamas in its October 7 attack.

The IDF said on Tuesday that Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued "in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip."

The Hostages Families Forum said in a statement his "return home is nothing short of miraculous". It said he "endured 326 days in captivity".

The 52-year-old is from Israel's Arab Bedouin minority and was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that were attacked by Hamas. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.

Hamas-led militants abducted some 250 people in its attack on October 7, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were fighters. It has displaced 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people from their homes and caused heavy destruction across the besieged territory.

Hamas is still holding around 110 hostages, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Most of the rest were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a cease-fire last November.