Hamas has released two American captives who were captured in the October 7 attacks on Israel.
Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan are also the first ones to be released since the attacks.
Al Jazeera reports that Hamas’s armed wing al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Ubaida said that they freed the hostages “for humanitarian reasons” following mediating attempts made by Qatar.
US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar and Israel for their collective efforts in ensuring their release.
A spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry stated that the release was the result of “many days of continuous communication with all parties” and that they hope to “release of all civilian hostages from every nationality”.
The Israeli military believes that many of the detained are still alive.
Following October 7 and the killings of 1,400 Israelis at the hands of Hamas, Israel has killed more than 4,000 Palestinians in Gaza Strip as a response; and has also foisted a “complete siege” which it says it will not lift till Israeli hostages are freed.
Red Cross released a statement stating, “The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helped facilitate this release by transporting the hostages from Gaza to Israel, underscoring the real-life impact of our role as a neutral actor between the warring parties,
“The ICRC continues to call for the immediate release of all hostages. We are ready to visit the remaining hostages and to facilitate any future release following an agreement reached by the parties.”
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