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Israeli Forces Rescue Hostage Alive From Gaza Tunnel
Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a Bedouin Israeli hostage who was kidnapped in the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack, is greeted by a loved one after being rescued by Israeli forces at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel, in this handout photo from Aug. 27, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Soroka Medical Center/Handout via REUTERS
Israeli special forces have recovered an Israeli hostage from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip in “a complex rescue operation,” the military said on Tuesday, more than 10 months after he was abducted by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7.
It said 52 year-old Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a member of the Bedouin community in southern Israel, had been transferred to Soroka hospital in Beersheva and his condition was stable.
Military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Alkadi, a father of 11, had been rescued in an underground tunnel but gave no details of the operation, citing the security of the remaining hostages and Israeli forces.
“We will not rest until we complete our mission to bring all our hostages back,” he told a briefing.
The rescue was hailed by Israeli leaders, desperate for good news almost a year into a grinding campaign that has seen pressure mounting on the government to do more to bring over 100 hostages back home.
President Isaac Herzog said the rescue was “a moment of joy for the State of Israel and Israeli society as a whole.”
As the rescue was confirmed, Israeli television stations showed a military helicopter landing at a hospital as medical staff and ambulance stood by waiting to receive Alkadi.
He had been taken hostage in Kibbutz Magen, one of a string of communities around the Gaza Strip that were attacked by Hamas-led fighters on Oct. 7.
More than 250 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in the attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed.
Alkadi’s rescue leaves 108 Israeli and foreign hostages still in Gaza but around a third of these are known to have died, with the fate of the others unknown.
The operation, following the rescue of four Israeli hostages in June, comes as talks have continued to try to agree a halt to the fighting in Gaza and the return of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Last Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, from a tunnel in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The post Israeli Forces Rescue Hostage Alive From Gaza Tunnel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.