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Israel says hostage seized by Hamas on Oct. 7 rescued in “complex” operation by troops in Gaza
Jerusalem — The Israeli military said Tuesday that it has rescued one of the scores of people abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. The military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi was rescued “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip.” It did not provide further details.
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 on Oct. 7. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.
Israel’s Channel 12 showed Alkadi’s family members sprinting through the hospital where he was brought after they received the news.
Hamas-led militants abducted some 250 people in the Oct. 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The war 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.
Israel has rescued a total of eight hostages, including in two operations that killed scores of Palestinians. Hamas says several hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to negotiate an agreement in which the remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for a lasting cease-fire. The latest round of those talks, over the weekend in Cairo, appeared to have made little headway, but Israel said it remained committed to the dialogue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced intense criticism from families of the hostages and much of the Israeli public for not yet reaching a deal with Hamas to bring them home.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been taken into custody by federal authorities in New York, CBS News confirmed Monday night.
In recent months, the hip-hop mogul has faced multiple accusations of sexual abuse and physical violence. In March, Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement officers due to a possible ongoing sex trafficking investigation, U.S. officials said at the time, but no charges were filed then.
The charges against Combs on Monday were not immediately known.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Marc Agnifilo, an attorney for Combs, said in a statement. “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person but he Is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Combs has faced a number of lawsuits in recent months involving allegations of sexual misconduct and violence. Combs and his representatives have denied all the accusations.
In May, Combs apologized for a security video aired by CNN that appeared to show him attacking Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016. He said his behavior was “inexcusable” and he takes “full responsibility” for his actions.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
contributed to this report.
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