Amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza, Hamas has released two American citizens who were captured on October 7 following an attack by militants in southern Israel, according to reports from The Associated Press (AP).
The move transpired despite persistent airstrikes ravaging the southern parts of Gaza, a location populated with civilians who had relocated from northern parts after directives from Israel.
Israel’s decision to evacuate a significant town near its border with Lebanon has heightened speculations about a possible ground assault on Gaza.
This could ripple into broader regional unrest.
Witnesses from Khan Younis, a city located in southern Gaza, have recounted intense Israeli airstrikes, AP notes.
This is reportedly the same region where residents had been advised to take refuge due to the aggressive bombardments in territories near the Israel-Gaza border.
The U.N. Secretary-General is currently stationed at the Rafah border crossing, which connects Egypt and Gaza, aiming to facilitate the delivery of essential aid to the besieged region.
On the personal front, the release has brought immense relief to a Chicago-based family.
Uri Raanan from Bannockburn, a suburb of Chicago, expressed immense relief after confirming that his daughter and granddaughter were among the freed.
Speaking about his daughter’s condition post-release, he shared, “She’s doing good. She’s doing very good,” adding emotionally, “I’m in tears, and I feel very, very good.”
Mr. Raanan described the moment he learned about the release of an American mother-daughter duo by Hamas.
He had spent the day fervently hoping it was his daughter, Judith Raanan, and his granddaughter, Natalie, residents of Evanston.
The grandfather revealed plans for the duo to reconnect with family members in Tel Aviv before they head back to the U.S., explaining Natalie will mark her 18th birthday next week with family and friends.
The Israeli government announced that the two hostages, “mother and daughter Yehudit Tai and Natali Shoshana Raanan,” had been “released by the Hamas terror organization and were transferred to the Israeli border via the Red Cross.”
“They are on their way to an army base in central Israel where their families are anxiously waiting to greet them,” Israel added. “We will do everything in our power to bring the rest of the hostages home.”
U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement saying that the two “will have the full support of the United States government as they recover and heal, and we should all respect their privacy in this moment.”
Biden said he was “overjoyed,” and that “from the earliest moments of this attack, we have been working around the clock to free American citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas, and we have not ceased our efforts to secure the release of those who are still being held.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the hostages were retrieved “at the Gaza Strip border” and are en route to “a central military base where their families eagerly await.”
He said, “The Israeli government, the IDF, and our entire security apparatus will relentlessly work to ensure every missing individual is located and all our abducted citizens are brought home.”
