Elkadi was kidnapped by Hamas during an attack on Israel on October 7, and is the eighth hostage to be rescued by Israeli forces since the war in Gaza began.
He returned to his hometown of Karkur in the Negev Desert after being released from the hospital on Wednesday.
Surrounded by journalists and Bedouin villagers, Mr. Elkadi appealed for the release of all the hostages.
“It doesn't matter if you're an Arab or a Jew, everyone has a family waiting for them. They also want to feel joy.
“I hope and pray that this ends,” he said, adding that he conveyed the same message in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
“I said to Bibi Netanyahu yesterday, 'Make an effort to end this.'”
Mr. Elkadi was able to return home after undergoing medical examination.
The father of 11 children told relatives about “the hard times and the very brutality of captivity,” said Ata Abu Medigam, a former mayor of the southern Israeli city of Rahat, according to Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
“He told me about one of the hostages who had been held captive with him for two months and then died next to him,” Mr. Medigam said.
Mr Elkadi also began to worry that he might lose his eyesight, Mr Medigam added.
“He examined my eyes to make sure they were still functioning and working. He put his fingers on my eyes and checked my reflexes.”
Mr Elkadi also told relatives that one of his fellow inmates died next to him while he was held captive, Mr Medigam said.
The Israeli military said they found Elkadi “alone” in an underground tunnel.
Military authorities said in a statement that further details about the rescue could not be released “out of consideration for the safety of the hostages, the security of the military and national security.”
But some details about Mr. Elkadi's captivity have emerged.
His cousin, Fadi Abu Sahiban, said Mr Elkadi was not given special treatment because he was Muslim.
“They wouldn't give in because he was Muslim. He says they let him pray. That's the only thing they allowed him to do,” he told Haaretz.
Mr Elkadi had no way of communicating with the outside world and was constantly afraid that a bomb would fall on his head, his cousin said.
“I was shaking as I listened to the endless sound of IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) artillery fire,” said Abu Sahiban.
“He was convinced that every day was his last, not just because of the prisoners, but also because of the military bombardment. He said every day was a life-threatening situation.”
Elkadi, who has one grandchild, had been working for several years as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen near the Israel-Gaza border when he was kidnapped.
