On Friday, two Americans held hostage by Hamas for two weeks were released. 17-year-old Natalie Raanan and her 59-year-old mother Judith Raanan were released, according to a statement by Hamas on the Telegram messaging service, for “humanitarian reasons”.
The girl’s father Uri Raanan, who lives in Chicago in the US, spoke with her after she and her mother were released and transported from Gaza to Israel with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
– She is fine. She is doing very well, the father told the AP news agency, adding:
— I am crying and I feel very, very well.
He is especially happy that his daughter will probably make it home to the United States and celebrate her 18th birthday with her friends and family.
— Wonderful, that is the best news.
Natalie and Judith Raanan are the first of the approximately 200 people who were taken hostage to be released.
Biden overjoyed
US President Joe Biden said in a statement after the release that he was “overjoyed” by the news.
“Our dear compatriots have endured a terrible ordeal over the last 14 days, and I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their families, who have been tormented by fear.”
Biden also thanked Qatar for its role as a mediator and the Israeli government for cooperation. He also promised to continue working to bring home other Americans held hostage by Hamas. Even the country’s foreign minister, Antony Blinken, calls on Hamas to release all American prisoners “immediately and unconditionally”.
— Another ten Americans are still missing in this conflict, says Blinken during a press conference.
Is alive
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military announced that most of the approximately 200 people kidnapped in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 are alive.
“A majority of the hostages are alive. There were also dead bodies that were taken… to the Gaza Strip,” said the statement announced by the army on Friday.
According to the army, more than 20 hostages are children and between 10 and 20 are over 60 years old.
In addition, between 100 and 200 people are missing since the Hamas attack, the army adds.
On October 7, terrorist-branded Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel, the worst in the country’s 75-year history. More than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were shot, maimed or burned to death during the attack, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel has responded with attacks that have killed more than 4,100 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.