American mother and teenage daughter hostages released by Hamas

Hamas released two American hostages from captivity on Friday, two weeks after they were kidnapped and transported to Gaza by the Palestinian militant group during its deadly rampage through southern Israel.

Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 17, were released to the Red Cross and are now in the hands of the Israeli military. An image of the pair was later released by the Israeli government showing them accompanied by Israeli soldiers after crossing the border.

Natalie’s father Uri Raanan said that he spoke to his daughter on Friday. “She’s doing good. She’s doing very good,” he said. “I’m in tears, and I feel very, very good.”

Mr Raanan, 71, from Chicago, said he saw on the news earlier on Friday that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas, and he spent the day hoping that meant his daughter and her mother, Judith. Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at home with family and friends feels “wonderful, the best news”, Mr Raanan said.

The mother and daughter were visiting Israel from Illinois when they were taken captive. They had been staying in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near Gaza. Roughly 200 people were taken hostage and 1,400 killed during the 7 October attack, which prompted a devastating Israeli military assault on Gaza in response.

President Joe Biden confirmed the release in a statement on Friday in which he said the US government had been working “around-the-clock” to free American citizens held by Hamas.

“Our fellow citizens have endured a terrible ordeal these past 14 days, and I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear,” Mr Biden said, giving thanks to the governments of Qatar and Israel for their help in securing the release.

“As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans held hostage around the world,” he added.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said the release came after “many days of continuous communication” with all parties.

A statement released by Hamas on its Telegram channel said a mother and her daughter were released “in response to Qatari efforts”. It continued that the release was for “humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by [Joe] Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.”

Responding to the hostage release, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said: “Hamas presents itself to the world as having returned the women they took hostage on humanitarian grounds, while Hamas is in fact a murderous terrorist organisation that right now is holding infants, children, women and elderly people hostage in the Gaza Strip, and continuing to commit crimes against humanity.”

Israel responded to the 7 October massacre by bombarding the densely populated Gaza Strip with airstrikes and artillery fire, killing more than 4,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It has vowed to wipe out Hamas in Gaza and has made preparations for a ground offensive into the territory.

Gaza is in the grips of a serious humanitarian crisis as a result of a “total siege” imposed on the 42km-long (26 miles) territory by the Israeli government, which cut off power, water, fuel and food to the 2.3 million people who live there.

Doctors Without Borders warned on Friday that Gaza’s healthcare system is “facing collapse”.