BICOM Background Briefing: IDF rescues hostage from Gaza tunnel via BICom

IDF rescues hostage from Gaza tunnel 

What happened: On Tuesday morning IDF troops rescued Farhan al-Qadi alive after more than 10 months in Hamas captivity.

• Al-Qadi, a 52 year old Bedouin and father of 11 children from Rahat, was abducted from Kibbutz Magen where he worked as a guard on October 7^th.
• He was rescued from a tunnel in the southern Gaza strip. The precise details of the rescue have not been revealed due to ongoing operational considerations.
• Qadi is quoted as telling Israeli media, “The soldiers called out to me before entering; that’s when the terrorists fled… I feared the tunnel had been booby-trapped with explosive devices so I walked very slowly.”
• As he exited the tunnel, the first person to speak to him was Col. Ahsan Daksa, a Druze commander who speaks Arabic. Daksa was able to ascertain crucial initial details from inside the tunnel.
• He was then flown to Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva where he was reunited with his family. Although malnourished, Qadi was in overall stable condition.
• His release was greeted by widespread celebrations. He received phone calls from both President Herzog and the prime minister.
• Farhan told the president, “I am grateful to the State of Israel, to the army, who came. People are suffering there. Do everything you can to bring people home. Work 24 hours, don’t sleep until they return. People are really suffering, you can’t imagine. Suddenly, I heard someone speaking Hebrew outside the door, I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it. I thank you very much. This is thanks to our army, they are doing a sacred duty, risking their lives. Thank you very much, Mr. President.” 

Context: In parallel to military operations, diplomatic efforts continue to reach a hostage deal.

• Although there has been no breakthrough in negotiations, there is continued hope that US, Egyptian and Qatari mediation can produce another deal that will see the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for convicted Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons and a ceasefire.
• Prime Minister Netanyahu remains committed to maintaining a presence along the Gaza- Egyptian border to prevent Hamas smuggling and rearming and the Netzarim Corridor that bisects the Strip, preventing Hamas fighters from returning north.
• According to Israeli media reports US mediators are instead switching the focus of negotiations onto other issues that they believe will be easier to reach understandings. These include:
  • The ratio of hostages in return for prisoners.
  • How many vetoes the Israeli side will have over releasing ‘heavyweight’ arch terrorists.
  • Of the Palestinian prisoners to be released, which ones (deemed an ongoing security risk) will be deported.
• This latest release still leaves 108 hostages in Gaza, of whom 104 have been in captivity for 327 days. 
• 251 people were kidnapped on October 7th 2023 whilst four other hostages have been held in Gaza for a decade: two Israeli civilians and the bodies of two soldiers, from three separate incidents in 2014. Israel will seek to have the two living civilian hostages, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, included in any deal.
• According to official data, 34 of the hostages are no longer alive and their bodies are being held by Hamas. However it is feared this figure could be higher.  
• 105 Israelis and foreign nationals were released as part of a deal in November 2023.
• Eight hostages have been rescued alive, whist the bodies of 30 murdered hostages have been located by IDF forces and returned to Israel. Three abductees were mistakenly shot by IDF forces and their bodies were returned to Israel.
• This morning the IDF announced the death of another IDF soldier, Staff Sgt. Amit Friedman, a 19-year-old resident of Or Yehuda, who was killed in action in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday.
• The takes the total IDF fatalities to 703, of whom 351 were killed on October 7^th itself, with 352 having fallen since the start of the ground operation.     

The north: Despite the successful IDF operation in Lebanon on Sunday Hezbollah has continued with low level attritional attacks on northern Israel. 

• Once more sirens were heard across northern Israel. A drone infiltrated from Lebanon injuring a soldier in the area of Beit Hillel.
• In response, the IDF attacked launch sites in the areas of Cheebaa and Yarine in southern Lebanon.
• The operation on Sunday that targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers prior to an imminent attack is the latest example of the rehabilitation of Israeli military intelligence (that failed so badly on October 7th) to pre-empt Hezbollah plans and locate launchers, many of which were hidden underground.
• It involved complex coordination between intelligence and operations, sharing real time updates with 100 air force jets striking over 40 sites simultaneously.
• As such, it has been viewed as a tactical success, but not significant enough to change the strategic picture.
• There is further mounting pressure and discord from local community leaders towards the government after almost 11 months and over 6,600 rocket attacks.   

International support: The operation on Sunday is also thought to be the latest example of US – Israeli intelligence cooperation.

• Another example of US assistance was seen earlier this week when the Israeli Ministry of Defence declared the arrival of the 500th aircraft delivering military aid since the war begun.  According to the announcement, “over 50,000 tonnes of military equipment have been delivered to Israel via 500 flights and 107 sea shipments. The equipment procured and transported includes armoured vehicles, munitions, ammunition, personal protection gear, and medical equipment.”
• In parallel Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Brown visited Israel on Monday. He met Defence Minister Gallant, where they discussed both the northern and southern fronts as well as the Iranian threat.
• Similarly, earlier this week Minister Gallant also spoke on the phone with British Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey.  According to Gallant’s office they discussed, “the important cooperation with Britain in ensuring Israel’s security.” They also discussed “the UK’s important role in maintaining regional stability, and in this regard emphasised the importance of preventing regional escalation.”
• “Minister Gallant expressed his appreciation to Secretary Healey for the excellent defence cooperation between the respective nations, and for his personal leadership and commitment to Israel’s security.”

West Bank: The IDF has launched a significant counterterrorism operation in various locations in the northern West Bank.

• The operation is focused on Jenin and Tulkarm and includes ground troops as well as drones and helicopter gunships.
• Palestinian sources report that 11 Palestinians have been killed, in a combination of airstrikes and in exchanges of fire.
• The IDF announced that it had “eliminated five terrorists operating within an operations room in the area of Nur Shams”. These include: Mohanad Qarawi and Muhammad Yussef; Adnan Jaber, who manufactured explosives; and Jibril Jasan Ismail Jibril, who was involved in terror activity in the Tulkarm and Qalqilya areas and who was released as part of the agreement in November 2023.

Looking ahead: A technical team of Israeli security service professionals is relocating from Egypt to Doha in order to continue to work on the details of a hostage deal before the lead negotiators return.

• There is hope that al-Qadi can provide valuable information that could help rescue other hostages. 
• While allied forces remain in the region, Israel remains vigilant over a threatened attack by Iran.