Hamas Frees Two US Citizen Hostages

Gaza, MINA -The Hamas group released two hostages who were citizens of the United States (US). Mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan are the first hostages to be freed since the group running Gaza carried out an unexpected attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.

The women were in the Nahal Oz kibbutz, near the Gaza border, when they were detained by the Hamas military. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, they were on their way to a military base in central Israel.

Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida said the hostages were released in response to Qatar’s mediation efforts.

“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 untrue, baseless,” he said as quoted from Republika Online.

A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman said the release of the hostages came after days of continuous communication. Dialogue regarding the release of hostages will continue.

A source who explained the negotiations for the release of hostages held by Hamas said the release of the two US citizens was the first step. “Discussions are ongoing for further releases,” he said.

United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday voiced relief that Hamas had freed two US hostages.
However, Blinken said Hamas was still holding up to 10 other US citizens among some 200 captives captured earlier this month.

“There are still 10 Americans unaccounted for in this conflict. “We know that some of them are being held hostage by Hamas, along with about 200 other hostages being held in Gaza,” Blinken told reporters.

The hostages, Blinken said, including men, women, boys, girls, elderly people, from various countries, must all be released immediately and without conditions.

Two US women taken hostage on October 7 by Hamas during the war on Israel were freed on Friday and are now in Israel. Blinken said a team from the US Embassy would visit them, but did not provide information about their condition.

Asked about Hamas’ statement saying it was working with mediators to free more civilian hostages, Blinken called for all hostages to be released immediately. “I will not take anything Hamas says at face value,” he said, stressing that every hostage must be freed and must be released now.

Blinken, who returned Wednesday from an intensive tour of Israel and several Arab countries, once again thanked Qatar for its efforts to secure the release of the American hostages. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)