The Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed to the broadcaster CNNthis Friday (20), that two American hostages, mother and daughter, were released by Hamas.
A spokesman for Al-Qassam, the armed wing of the terrorist group, said earlier that the release was for “humanitarian reasons” as one of the kidnap victims was in poor health.
The agreement was mediated by Qatar, according to information from the newspaper The Times of Israel. The hostages are Judith and Natalia Raanan, Chicago residents with dual citizenship. They were visiting relatives in the settlement of Nahal Oz, in Israel, when they were kidnapped by terrorists on the 7th.
The two were delivered to the Gaza border by the Red Cross and were on their way to an Israeli military base to reunite with family, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
To the British broadcaster BBCthe US State Department said it will release details about the case during the press conference on the war, in Washington, this Friday (20).
This was the first hostage release since the start of Israel’s declared war against Hamas.
Data released by the Israeli government shows that there are at least 20 children kidnapped by the terrorist group in Gaza and 10 elderly people over the age of 60.
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