Kidnapped American mother and daughter — in Israel for birthday party — released by Hamas

Israel says Hamas has released two American hostages – a mother and daughter who had been in Israel for their grandmothers’ 85th birthday in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz.

People carry placards bearing pictures of missing persons as they protest for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, outside the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv. Picture: AFP

Two American hostages who were kidnapped on October 7 during the shock Hamas attacks on Israel have been released, Israeli government sources have announced.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said: “This evening (Friday) Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan were released from the hands of the terrorist organisation Hamas.

“The two were kidnapped by the terrorist organisation Hamas, in the murderous surprise attack last Saturday (07.10.23) when they were staying at Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

“The person in charge of the abductees and the missing, Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, together with the IDF and the security forces, received them at the border of the Gaza Strip and at this moment they are on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the centre of the country, where their family members are waiting for them.

“The Government of Israel, the IDF and the entire security establishment will continue to operate with the best of their abilities and efforts in order to locate all of the missing and return all of the abductees home.”

Dr Majid Al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two Americans had been handed over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, which was the result of “many days of continuous communication between all the parties”.

He added: “We will continue our dialogue with both the Israelis and Hamas, and we hope these efforts will lead to the release of all civilian hostages from every nationality, with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace.”

Earlier, an unnamed diplomat sourced by CBS news also confirmed the news that two hostages were in the care of the International Red Cross.

Jewish Breaking News reported that the pair – 17-year-old Natalie and her mother Judith Raanan, from Evanston, Illinois, who had been in Israel visiting their grandmothers’ 85th birthday in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, close to the Gaza border – were being transferred through Egypt and on to the United States.

Reuters said the Hamas armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, released two US hostages from Gaza – a mother and her daughter – “for humanitarian reasons” in response to Qatari mediation efforts in the war with Israel, its spokesman Abu Ubaida said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a lobby group of affected families released a statement saying they welcomed the release of hostages from Hamas captivity but called for the international community and world leaders to “exert their full power” to act for the release of all the hostages and the missing.

The group said: “The families headquarters welcomes the release of hostages from Hamas captivity.

“The continued holding of hostages is a war crime. Hundreds of families await the assistance of leaders of Arab states after Hamas’s actions shocked the entire world.

“Hamas committed war crimes. Many leaders in Arab states have tremendous influence over its leaders and must act to immediately release all the hostages and missing held in Gaza.

“We call on world leaders and the international community to exert their full power in order to act for the release of all the hostages and missing.”

US president Joe Biden had discussed the plight of the more than 200 hostages believed to be held by Hamas when he was in Israel earlier this week. Thirteen of the hostages are US citizens.

Earlier this week Natalie’s brother Ben Raanan expressed confidence to ABC7 Chicago that his sister and his stepmother would return home.

At the time Ben Raanan said “We have received intelligence from the American government as well as the Israeli government that the belief is that they are still alive and somewhere in Gaza. However, we have not yet received any sort of proof of life from Hamas”.