US mother and daughter from Chicago who were captivated during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and held hostage in Gaza have been released after Qatar brokered successful negotiations with Hamas.
US mother, Judith, 59, and her daughter Natalie Raanan, 17, were transferred through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, where they were met by Israeli security forces, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a statement late on Friday.
They were then taken to an Israeli military base to be reunited with their relatives. The two women, who also hold Israeli citizenship, were at the Nahal Oz kibbutz, less than 2km from Gaza, when Hamas militants broke through a hi-tech border fence on 7 October and kidnapped more than 200 others to hold them hostage in Gaza.
Natalie’s father Uri told the AP that he spoke to his daughter by telephone late on Friday. “She’s doing good. She’s doing very good,” he said. “I’m in tears, and I feel very, very good.”
READ MORE: Gaza conflict spreads into the West Bank; leave dozens of Palestinians dead, CNN reports
A Hamas spokesperson, Abu Ubaida, said the hostages were released in response to Qatari mediation efforts, “for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by President Joe Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless”, the Associated Press reported.
In a statement, Biden said he was “overjoyed” that the two would soon be back with their family, and pledged to continue his efforts to secure the release of additional hostages. “Jill and I have been holding close in our hearts all the families of unaccounted-for Americans.
Qatar said it would continue its dialogue with Israel and Hamas in hopes of winning the release of all hostages “with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which also contributed to the release, called for all hostages to be freed and offered to facilitate any future releases.
Via: Guardian
