Al-Qassem Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida announced on Friday the release of two American hostages for “humanitarian reasons”, following mediation from Qatar. Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan are already in Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
The released hostages are a mother and a daughter, the spokesperson said on his account on the digital platform Telegram, whose group is the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which carried out a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people were killed. people, mostly civilians, and captured 203 people, taking them hostage to the Gaza Strip, where they have been in power since 2007.
According to Obeida it is This gesture was decided to “demonstrate to the American people and the world that the statements of the [presidente dos Estados Unidos, Joe] Biden and his fascist government are false and baseless.”
Israeli authorities have already officially confirmed the release of the two kidnapped women, whose identities the Al-Qassem Brigades have not revealed.
However, a Hamas source quoted by Spanish news agency EFE indicated that the hostages are Judith and Natalie Raanan, from Evanston, on the outskirts of the city of Chicago, in the US state of Illinois. The identities of the Americans were also released by Netanyahu’s office.
Gal Hirsch, the Director of Kidnapped and Missing Persons, received them along with the IDF and security forces at the Gaza Strip border, and they are currently on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the Gaza Strip. center of Israel pic.twitter.com/yWQD1DLwnA
– Tal Schneider טל שניידר تال شنايدر (@talschneider) October 20, 2023
The Hamas source stated that the Islamist group coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) the transfer of the two hostages to that organization and ensured that both reached Israeli territory.
“On our part, it is a clear humanitarian step to demonstrate that our conflict is only with Israel.” he emphasized.
The announcement comes two days after Biden visited Israel to demonstrate the United States’ “unwavering” support and reaffirm Israelis’ right to defend themselves.
The US head of state also compared Hamas to the ‘jihadist’ group Islamic State (IS) and noted that “the atrocities” committed by the Palestinian Islamist group – classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel – – IS make it seem more rational.
He also supported Israel’s position on Tuesday’s explosion at a hospital in Gaza, which points to the failed firing of a rocket by Islamic Jihad, which was destined for Israel.
The exact number of hostages with American passports held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is unknown.
Thirteen American citizens are currently missing and approximately thirty have been killed as a result of Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
Source: DN
