Two American women, a mother and daughter, were released by Hamas on Friday night.
A US mother and daughter held by Hamas have been released “for humanitarian reasons”, the spokesman for the group’s armed wing Abu Ubaydah said.
A source told Sky News that the ages of the hostages are around 60 and 18.
They are currently with the Red Cross, according to Reuters. This is the first hostage release by Hamas since the October 7 attack.
Jerusalem Post: Hamas released the two American women because the mother is in bad shape
Two American-Israeli hostages held by Hamas since October 7 have been handed over to the Red Cross, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Judith and Natalie Raanan “are on the way out,” the paper said, citing a source with knowledge of the negotiations.
They are being released on “humanitarian grounds” because the mother’s health is in poor condition, the source said.
The two women freed by Hamas live in Chicago – They had gone to Israel to celebrate a relative’s birthday
Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan, a mother and daughter from Illinois, USA, were visiting relatives at Kibbutz Nahal Oz when it was attacked. A neighbor told the family he saw Hamas fighters take Judith and Natalie, 17, from the home, ABC7 in Chicago reported.
The two live in Chicago, United States and went to Israel to celebrate Judith’s mother’s birthday. Shari Cohen, Judith’s sister, said, “We have no idea what their condition is, where they are being held, and we just want them back to us.” Judith and Natalie are members of a family that suffered heavy losses in the incident, according to Jewish media. Two of the family members were killed and ten of them were identified as abducted or missing, the report said.
Source: iefimerida.gr
