Yazidi Woman Rescued After 10 Years in Gaza on 'Secret Mission'

gaza - A 21-year-old Yazidi woman who was taken captive by the Islamic State in Iraq ten years ago has been rescued from Gaza this week in a joint operation involving the United States, Israel, Iraq, and Jordan.

Israel's military described it as 'a complex operation' and reported that Fawzia Amin Sido was recently rescued 'during a secret mission from Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.' She has been brought to Jordan after her rescue and has since been reunited with her family in Iraq.

IS militants abducted the woman at the age of 11 in northwestern Iraq, along with thousands of other Yazidis. Many women and girls were subsequently sold as sex slaves.

Efforts were made for four months to extract the woman from Gaza, but due to the unsafe situation caused by the Israeli military operation in the Palestinian territory, it was unsuccessful, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

Iraqi officials had been in contact with her for months, passing on information to the Americans. They arranged her escape with the help of Israel. Her captor had recently been killed, likely by an Israeli airstrike, allowing her to flee her hideout in Gaza.

According to a U.S. official, she was physically okay but traumatized by her years of captivity.