Hamas militants freed an American woman and her daughter almost two weeks after they were taken captive during the group’s deadly raid on southern Israel, the Israeli government said.
(Bloomberg) — Hamas militants freed an American woman and her daughter almost two weeks after they were taken captive during the group’s deadly raid on southern Israel, the Israeli government said.
The two were identified as Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and US government officials. They were handed over to Israeli forces at the border of the Gaza Strip and were on their way to meet family.
They were among the more than 200 people seized in Hamas raids across the region on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people, including Americans. They were taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, the site of one of the bloodiest massacres in the attack by Hamas.
President Joe Biden spoke to the two freed Americans, according to a White House statement on Friday evening. The White House also said that Biden had spoken with Netanyahu about efforts to secure hostage releases and make sure US citizens in Gaza get safe passage out.
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“From the earliest moments of this attack, we have been working around-the-clock to free American citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas, and we have not ceased our efforts to secure the release of those who are still being held,” Biden said in the statement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Washington that 10 Americans were still unaccounted for and that at least some of them are believed to be held by Hamas. Asked about terms for negotiating more releases, Blinken said only that hostages should be released “unconditionally.”
ABC News reported that the two hostages released Friday are from Evanston, Illinois, and had traveled to Israel to celebrate a relative’s birthday. Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, called their release an “undeniable relief” and said she would keep working for the freedom of others in Hamas captivity, according to a statement.
In a statement, Hamas said the two Americans were released after mediation by Qatar — a reference to the country’s role in negotiating for the release of many of the hostages who are believed to be in the Gaza Strip. Qatar’s government confirmed the release, saying the breakthrough came after “many days of continuous communication between all the parties involved.”
Qatar said it would keep up its dialogue with Israel and Hamas, several of whose political leaders live in the country.
Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and the European Union, said the two hostages were released on humanitarian grounds and to show that President Joe Biden’s claims — which it didn’t specify — “are false and baseless.” Hamas didn’t say what Biden claims it was referring to. In a speech from the Oval Office on Thursday night, Biden said Hamas “unleashed pure, unadulterated evil in the world.”
(Updates with Biden call, in fourth paragraph.)
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