Two American hostages have been released by Hamas, the Israeli Defense Force has confirmed to ABC News.
Hamas release 2 American hostages Friday, Judith and Natalie Raanan, a mother and daughter from Evanston.
"Jill and I have been holding close in our hearts all the families of unaccounted for Americans. And, as I told those families when I spoke with them last week-we will not stop until we get their loved ones home," Biden said. He added, "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 the missing and return the abductees are all home."
Ten Americans remain unaccounted for, and some of them are among the estimated 200 people being held by Hamas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.Pro-Israel supporters gather to demand the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas during a demonstration at Times Square on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in New York.Hamas took captives during its Oct. 7 rampage through numerous areas of the border fence separating Gaza from Israel.
Hamas had been in negotiations with Qatar government officials to release women, children and the elderly who are not Israeli, officials said on Oct. 17. During the negotiations, Hamas said the release of some hostages would depend on whether Israel was willing to free 36 women and teenage Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, but Israel rejected the proposal, according to the The Times of Israel newspaper.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner of the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News on Oct. 16 that specialized Israeli units had been probing areas of Gaze looking for the hostages in advance of an expected Israeli ground incursion into the Palestinian territory. But on Oct. 18, Dan said she learned from authorities that the bodies of her mother and daughter were found at the Gaza border.
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