(JTA) — Hamas has released two American hostages, a mother and a daughter, whom it was holding in the Gaza Strip. The release was confirmed by an organization dedicated to the rescue of the more than 200 hostages the terrorist group captured in its Oct. 7 invasion.
“The families headquarters congratulates the release of hostages from Hamas captivity,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a message it distributed to reporters on WhatsApp. “The continued holding of hostages is a war crime. Hundreds of families await the assistance of leaders of Arab states after Hamas’ actions shocked the entire world.”
Foreign reports named the women as Natalie and Judith Raanan of Evanston, Illinois.
Last night on MSNBC, former Israel-based NBC correspondent Martin Fletcher said two members of his wife’s family are being held hostage by Hamas in Israel. Fletcher said the two family members he was referring to are Natalie and Judith Raanan.
“They’re from Evanston, Illinois. They’re Americans. They were visiting their grandmother for her 85th birthday,” he said. “And they were last seen with their hands tied, being dragged away by the Hamas terrorists.
“So it’s personal, it’s real, and nobody is really confident that it’s possible to get them back alive. Of course, everybody’s hoping.”
Media reports said the two were released to the Red Cross. A Red Cross spokeswoman did not immediately return a request from comment.
A spokeswoman for the Families Forum, Liat Bell Sommer, confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the two hostages are American, but said she could not provide further details at the request of the families.
A Hamas spokesman told reporters on a Telegram channel that it had “released two American citizens (a mother and her daughter) for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.”
President Joe Biden has backed Israel in its war against Hamas since the terrorist group invaded Israel, killing 1,400 people, most of them civilians, wounding thousands and kidnapping more than 20o. Israel declared war on Hamas following the invasion.
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