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"Don't Shoot! I'm Farhan": Israeli Hostage's Captivity Ends
(Wall Street Journal-Ynet News) Dov Lieber - Over 326 days as a hostage in Gaza, Farhan al-Qadi survived mostly on bread and dates, often underground. His captors moved him from tunnel to tunnel, never staying in one place very long. Then on Tuesday, hearing Israeli soldiers approaching, al-Qadi's guards suddenly fled. "Don't shoot! I'm Farhan," he called out. He lost nearly 45 pounds. He was kept with other hostages at times. One elderly Jewish captive [Aryeh Zalmanovich, 86] died beside him. Ata Abo Mdegm, a former mayor of the Bedouin city of Rahat, said, "He was treated just like a Jewish hostage. They didn't give him any privileges for being a Muslim Bedouin." There are still three Bedouin hostages believed to be alive, and another who was previously declared dead by Israeli officials. Around 20 Bedouin were killed during Hamas's Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, Mdegm said.