Hamas releases two American-Israeli hostages: Judith and Natalie Raanan

Two American-Israeli hostages, Judith (Yehudit) Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan, held by Hamas since October 7, were handed over to the Red Cross, returned to Israel and reunited with their family late Friday.They were released on “humanitarian grounds.”

The mother and daughter were met at the border by Coordinator for the Captives and Missing Brig.-Gen. (Ret.) Gal Hirsch, along with IDF and security forces, at around 10 p.m. They then made their way to a meeting point at a military base in central Israel, where their family members were waiting for them.

Two of the hostages, mother and daughter Yehudit Tai and Natali Shoshana Raanan were 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 were their families are anxiously… pic.twitter.com/S4WZKUlE2h

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 20, 2023

“The State of Israel, the IDF, and the entire security establishment will continue to work with all available resources and efforts to locate all the missing individuals and bring all the captives back home,” the PMO said in a statement.Hamas put out a statement on its Telegram channel ahead of the release:

“In response to Qatari efforts, Al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens (a mother and her daughter) for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless,” Hamas wrote.

Natalie, 17, just graduated from high school, according to her aunt Saray Cohen. She was taking a gap year to travel before starting college. Yehudit is a professional beautician and an artist. She also works as a sterilization technician in several hospitals in the Chicago area.

She and her daughter were in Israel together to celebrate the 85th birthday of Yehudit’s mother, Tamar Levitan, from Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

On October 7, they slept in the guest apartment of the kibbutz, situated in the foremost row of residences, nearest to the fence and entrance gate.

US President Joe Biden spoke to the hostages on Saturday. The two women thanked Biden for his assistance and they told him they were in good health.

Judith and Natalie, I’m so glad you’re coming home. pic.twitter.com/c7az0PcYXn

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 21, 2023

He said the US would stand by them.

“Our fellow citizens have endured a terrible ordeal these past 14 days, and I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, which has been wracked with fear,” the president said. “These individuals and their family 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.”

The president also thanked Qatar and Israel for their partnership after Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said that the release came as a result of “many days” of its mediation.

“Qatar hopes dialog will lead to the release of all civilian hostages from every nationality,” the ministry said.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there are still 10 additional Americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict.  

“We know that some of them are being held hostage by Hamas, along with an estimated 200 other hostages held in Gaza. They include men, women, young boys, young girls, elderly people from many nations.  Every single one of them should be released,” he said.

An Israeli source told KAN News that the release of the captives is intended to pressure Israel to delay its ground entry into Gaza. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that despite the women’s release, Israel “will continue to fight until victory.”

Friends of the Raanans in the US were overjoyed at their release. Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein, executive director of Chabad of Evanston, has known Yehudit for more than 10 years. He told The Jerusalem Post that Yehudit “is the type of person who lights up a room when she walks in. She is always helpful, caring. She is very spiritual.”

He said that Yehudit was not Chabad but was drawn to the community’s classes and other programming.

Klein noted that the community had been praying and holding vigils for the Raanans since their capture.

More than 200 still in captivity

“We are so happy that they are being released and will eventually get back to Evanston safely,” Klein said. “But it is bittersweet because we know there are more than 200 other hostages. We will continue to pray and do whatever we can do to bring them all home.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters responded to the announcement with a similar statement.“The continued holding of hostages is a war crime,” a statement by the headquarters said. “Many leaders in Arab states have tremendous influence over its (Hamas) 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.”

The Families of American-Israeli Hostages in Gaza thanked Biden for “following through” on his promise of working to free US citizens being held hostage by the terrorist organization Hamas,: but said there are still a significant number of American citizens, including some who are critically wounded, being held in Gaza.

“We call on President Biden, the US Congress, as well as the Israeli government to continue to do all they can to ensure that all hostages are released immediately from Hamas captivity,” the statement read.

On Friday morning, several families of those taken hostage traveled to Geneva to lobby for their loved ones. They met with Mirjana Spoljaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Red Cross had offered to visit and help the hostages in any way and work towards their release.Spoljaric said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday night that “as a neutral actor, the ICRC’s role was to transport the hostages from Gaza to Israel.” 

The release of the two hostages today is a sliver of hope.⁰Remaining hostages must be immediately released. We are ready to help.⁰We urgently call for a pause in the fighting in Gaza. People cannot be kept waiting for desperately needed aid. pic.twitter.com/8sIqlb5XAq

— Mirjana Spoljaric (@ICRCPresident) October 20, 2023