Hamas released two American hostages on Friday in cooperation with Qatar and Egypt, among a group of about 200 who has been abducted. Hamas has stated its readiness to address the prisoner issue positively if Israel halts its Gaza bombardment.
Gaza’s Hamas rulers on Friday released two American hostages, from about 200 people abducted in attacks by the militant group in Israel on October 7, Israel and the militant group said.
Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan were in Israeli hands late Friday, the Israeli government said.
“In response to Qatari efforts, (Ezzedine) al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens for humanitarian reasons,” Hamas said in a Friday statement.
He added that the move aimed “to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.”
No details were given on their condition.
The American mother and daughter were seized from the Nahal Oz kibbutz near the Israel-Gaza border on October 7. They were reportedly on holiday in Israel at the time.
“This is a gesture of goodwill from Hamas to prove for all the international community that Hamas is not a terrorist organization,” the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said
Hamas is ready to “deal with the issue of the prisoners in a positively way” but first, the Israeli bombardment of Gaza must stop. The spokesman added that the group is treating the captives with “dignity and respect.”
Israel says 203 people, both Israelis and foreigners, were abducted by Hamas gunmen when they launched the worst attacks since Israel’s creation in 1948. At least 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians, on the day of the attack, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has responded with a relentless bombing campaign against the Gaza Strip that has left at least 4,137 people dead, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Qatar as mediator
Hamas said it was working with Qatar and Egypt to free “civilian” hostages, in a sign that more releases could follow.
Doha confirmed its role and said it hoped more releases could be agreed.
Qatar is a major donor of aid to Gaza and two Hamas leaders are based in the Gulf state. A Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said the country had mediated between Hamas and the United States and that the release followed “many days of continuous communication between all the parties involved.
The Israeli military said Friday that most of those abducted to Gaza were still alive even though some dead bodies have been found on incursions into Gaza.
The military said more than 20 hostages were minors, while between 10 and 20 were over the age of 60.
There are also between 100 and 200 people considered missing since the Hamas attacks, the army added.
Katrine Dige Houmøller, with AFP and Al Jazeera
