Star Metro - Army says Israeli hostage rescued from Gaza

Kaid Alkadi, a 52-year-old Israeli Bedouin, was abducted by Palestinian militants during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the military said in a statement.

"Kaid AlKadi was rescued... in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said.

"He is in a stable medical condition and is being transferred for medical checks to a hospital."

Alkadi is a resident of Rahat, a mainly Arab town, and on October 7 he had been working as a guard at a warehouse in southern Israel when he was seized by militants.

"We are committed to seizing every opportunity to bring the hostages back to their homes," Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement on X.

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the rescue of Alkadi was "miraculous".

"However, we must remember that military operations alone cannot free the remaining hostages who have suffered 326 days of abuse and terror," it said, insisting only a ceasefire could ensure the return of other captives.

"A negotiated deal is the only way forward.

"We urgently call on the international community to maintain pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed deal and release all hostages," it said.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, in an online briefing when asked about the hostage calling for deal said: "That is precisely what we are doing through diplomacy, but also with military means.

"It's clear that Hamas only take these negotiations seriously when they're under military pressure. We know that to be true."

On October 7, militants attacked southern Israeli communities in an unprecedented attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized 251 people, 104 of whom are still captive in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign since then has killed at least 40,476 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry of the Hamas-run territory.

Most of the dead are women and children, according to UN rights office.

- Truce talks -

The United States meanwhile struck a cautious note of optimism on Monday regarding efforts to clinch a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of remaining hostages.

Their fate is central in ongoing truce talks in Cairo, with relatives and supporters piling pressure on the Israeli government in weekly protests demanding their return home.

In Washington, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday "there continues to be progress" and that the talks would continue and involve "working groups" for several days.

A key sticking point in the talks has been Israel's insistence on keeping control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, to stop Hamas from re-arming, something the militant group has refused to countenance.

Cairo, which has been mediating the talks alongside Qatar and the United States, insisted on Monday "it will not accept any Israeli presence" along the corridor, Egyptian state-linked Al-Qahera news reported citing a high-level source.

The more than 10 months of war has so far since only one truce that lasted for a week starting November 24.

During that period 105 hostages were released in exchange of 240 Palestinian prisoners.

N.Fournier--SMC