By Smartencyclopedia with Agencies
The Israeli government says Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan were captured by troops inside the Gaza Strip.
President Joe Biden and the Israeli government confirmed Friday that they had found two U.S. soldiers trapped in Gaza.
Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan were received by security personnel in the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said.
“They are going to a military base in the center of the country,” the spokesman said.
Biden said he was pleased to learn that Judith and Natalie were reunited with their families.
“These individuals and their families will have the full support of the United States government while they are alive, and we must all respect their autonomy at this time,” Biden said.
Before Biden spoke to Israel, Hamas announced the release of the mother and daughter, saying it was for humanitarian reasons.
A Hamas raid on Israel in October resulted in the arrest of 200 people, including Judith and Natalie. 7. Sarah Cohen said Natalie’s last contact was in a safe room at a kibbutz called Nahal Oz.
“They said they heard gunshots in their home and they were fine and they loved us,” Cohen said. That was the last I heard from them.
It is unclear how they lived during their nearly two weeks in captivity.
The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed support for his release as part of their “spokesperson” role in the war.
“Today there is some hope for the release of two prisoners in Gaza. We are pleased to be able to meet again after two painful weeks and to continue to encourage work to protect and reduce the suffering of all those affected by this war”, Red Cross said Mirjana Spoljalic, President of the International Committee.
Israel stated that the conflict on October 7 resulted in the death of more than 1,000 civilians. According to Hamas, Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed more than 4,300 people.
At a press conference on Friday, the US Secretary of State announced that 10 Americans were missing.
“We know that some of them are being held by Hamas and another 200 are in Gaza,” he said. Blinken added, “Everyone has to give up.”
The United States says it is working with other countries to protect detainees. Blinken thanked Qatar for its efforts in helping Judith and Natalie leave Gaza.