The Two American women freed by Hamas—a mother and her teenage daughter who live in the Chicago area—have been reunited with their family in Israel on Friday, nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped along with dozens of other people by Palestinian militants.
59-year-old Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie surrendered to Israeli forces at the border with Gaza Strip.
Their release was announced by Abu Ubaydah, the representative of Hamas’s armed wing of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and was confirmed a short time later by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu pointed out that the two American women, who live in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, are “on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the center of the country, where their family members are waiting for them.”
At the same time, the Israeli prime minister pledged that the Israel “will fight until victory” in Gaza.
“Two of our abductees are at home. We do not give up efforts to return all abducted and missing persons”he emphasized in his statement. “At the same time we will continue to fight until victory”Netanyahu concluded.
Uri Raanan, Natalie’s father, said he spoke to his daughter on the phone. “She sounded very well, very happy and seems to be fine.”
According to Netanyahu and their family, the two women were expelled from the Nahal Oz kibbutz during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The two women visited the kibbutz, located about 2 kilometers from the Gaza border, as part of a trip that began in September to celebrate the Jewish holidays, Natalie’s graduation from school and her grandmother’s 85th birthday, they said. their relatives.
In the meantime, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that it contributed to the release of the two women.
In a statement, Miriana Spoliaric Egger explained that the ICRC contributed to their release “by transferring the hostages from Gaza to Israel”, underlining the neutrality of the organization she heads.
“Today’s release of two hostages from Gaza is a ray of hope. We are extremely relieved that they have been able to return to their family after two weeks of agony.”he emphasized.
The two women were among about 200 hostages held by Hamas. According to the Palestinian organization, 50 other hostages are being held by other armed groups in Gaza, while more than 20 have been killed by Israeli airstrikes.
Hamas clarified that the two American women were released for “humanitarian reasons”, after the mediation of Qatar.
A source with knowledge of the negotiations commented that the release of the two is “a first step”, adding that “talks for more releases are ongoing”.
US and British officials said they were working with Qatar to secure the release of the remaining hostages, who hail from countries as diverse as Thailand, Argentina, Germany, France and Portugal.
At least 16 dead from airstrikes in the Gaza Strip
Nightly shelling in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, in particular in the Rafah area and in a refugee camp, reports the correspondent of the Al Jazeera network.
According to the health ministry of the Palestinian enclave, at least 16 people were killed and more than 20 wounded during Israeli airstrikes in the last few hours.
Source: News Beast
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