Two Americans who were held hostage by Hamas in Gaza have been freed after Qatar mediated their release.
Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan were among the 200 people kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, when it launched a deadly attack on southern Israel that killed 1,400 people.
Hamas said it released the mother and daughter “for humanitarian reasons” on Friday, and they were transported to Israel by the Red Cross.
US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar and Israel for their cooperation in securing the release of the Americans.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said it had been in contact with all parties for “many days” to facilitate the release.
The Red Cross said it was ready to visit and help free the remaining hostages, and urged Hamas to release them immediately.
The Red Cross said, “The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helped facilitate this release by transporting the hostages from Gaza to Israel, underscoring the real-life impact of our role as a neutral actor between the warring parties,” the organisation said in a statement.
“The ICRC continues to call for the immediate release of all hostages. We are ready to visit the remaining hostages and to facilitate any future release following an agreement reached by the parties.”
Israel has been bombing Gaza since the Hamas attack, killing more than 4,000 people, mostly civilians. It has also sealed off the territory and demanded the return of its hostages.
