Hamas releases 2 American hostages; White House clarifies Biden’s ‘yes’ to delay Gaza invasion

Two Americans held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were released on Friday and the militants indicated that more could follow. Judith Tai Raanan and her teenage daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan were met at the Gaza border by an Israeli envoy and taken to a military base in central Israel.

US President Joe Biden also confirmed the release, assuring that his government would fully support the duo in their recovery and healing process.

“Today, we have secured the release of two Americans taken hostage by Hamas during the horrific terrorist assault against Israel on October 7,” the president said in a statement.

“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, who have been wracked with fear. 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 at this moment,” he said.

The Raanan duo were the first among more than 200 hostages to be released by Gaza rulers. Hamas said it was working with Qatar and Egypt to free its “civilian” hostages, in a sign that more releases could follow.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the two Americans were safely in the hands of Israeli authorities in Israel.

“Over the coming hours, they will receive any support and assistance they need, and of course, we are very anxious to be able to reunite them with their loved ones. We welcome their release. We share in the relief that their families, friends, and loved ones are feeling, but there are still ten additional Americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict,” Blinken said.

“We know that some of them are being held hostage by Hamas, along with an estimated 200 other hostages in Gaza. They include men, women, young boys, young girls, and elderly people from many nations. Every single one of them should be released. Since the early — earliest hours of this crisis, the president has made clear that he will do everything possible to secure the release of every hostage,” Blinken

The Israeli military has been preparing for ground invasion of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip but the threat to civilian hostages has remained a major challenge. Israel was evacuating a sizable town near the Lebanese border in the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil. When asked by a reporter on Friday whether Israel should delay a potential ground invasion of Gaza until more hostages can get out, Biden said “yes”.

The White House later said that Biden did not fully hear the question.

“The president was far away. He didn’t hear the full question,” White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt said.

“The question sounded like ‘Would you like to see more hostages released?’ He wasn’t commenting on anything else,” LaBolt added.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial attack on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said Friday that 4,137 Palestinians have been killed so far in the retaliatory strikes by Israel and more than 13,000 others wounded.
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