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2 Americans Taken Hostage By Hamas During The Attack On Israel Are Freed
A woman looks at photos of Israelis missing and held captive by Hamas, displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday. Two hostages — a mother and daughter from Illinois — were released Friday.
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Petros Giannakouris
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AP
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JERUSALEM — Two American hostages who were captured by the militant group Hamas during its attack on Israel this month have been released, the Israeli prime minister's office announced Friday.
Judith Raanan, 59, and Natalie Raanan, 17, a mother and daughter from Illinois, had been visiting family in Israel when they were abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, according to news interviews given by family members.
"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 has been wracked with fear," said President Biden in a statement.
The elder Raanan, also known by her Hebrew name, Yehudit, is an operating room nurse. Her daughter recently graduated from high school and was taking a gap year to travel, according to Saray Cohen, Raanan's sister, who spoke with the Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
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What we know so far
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Death toll and casualties
- Israeli officials report an attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 killed about 1,200 people. In addition, they say about 250 people were taken hostage, some have since been released.
- Gaza health officials have reported more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.
— NPR (Jan. 24)
The pair was received by the Israeli military at the border of the Gaza Strip, according to the prime minister's office. "At the moment, they are on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the center of their country, where their family members are waiting for them," the statement said.
The mother and daughter had traveled to Israel together to celebrate Raanan's mother's 85th birthday, Cohen said in the Kan video, which was posted earlier Friday. "We have no idea whatsoever what is their situation, where they're being held. We just want them to come back to us," she added.
The Ranaans were staying in a guest house in southern Israel on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants flooded across the Gaza border and into Israeli communities nearby. More than 1,400 people died in the attack, including hundreds of people killed in their homes and at a music festival, Israeli officials say.
Among the towns attacked was Nahal Oz, a quiet, small kibbutz just half a mile from the border with Gaza. Family members had been in contact with the Raanans, who were in Nahal Oz, even as the fighting began that morning, according to Cohen. For hours, they received updates via WhatsApp from the two, who were hiding in a safe room, according to relatives.
Sigal Zamir cries as she speaks at a prayer vigil for Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie Raanan, on Thursday in Evanston, Illinois. Zamir is the sister of Natalie's father, Uri Raanan.
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Charles Rex Arbogast
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AP
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But the messages stopped soon after noon, Cohen said. "After two hours or so of silence, we started to feel uneasy."
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The agreement to release the Raanans was the result of negotiations among the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Hamas.
About 200 hostages are thought to remain in the hands of Hamas, including dozens of children, according to the Israeli military, and a small number of Americans, according to U.S. officials. "We have not ceased our efforts to secure the release of those who are still being held," Biden said.
Israeli leaders have said that until all hostages are released, Israel will not lift a siege of Gaza that has cut off food, water, electricity and fuel from the territory that is home to more than 2 million Palestinians.
In a statement, Hamas said it would continue to work with mediators, such as Qatar and Egypt, to release all civilians under what it called "appropriate security conditions."
Rabbi Meir Hecht (right) with Chabad of Evanston reads from Psalms during a prayer vigil for Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie Raanan, on Oct. 12. Judith and Natalie were released by the militant group Hamas on Friday.
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Charles Rex Arbogast
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AP
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"The news that Judith and Natalie have been released gives us overwhelming gratitude to God that our prayers are being heard," Rabbi Meir Hecht of Chabad of Evanston, who is close to the family, told NPR.
"At the same time, we're so deeply concerned for the 200-plus other hostages that are still in the hands of Hamas terrorists, and we continue to pray, and ask everyone to pray, for their immediate release," he said.
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Understanding how we got here
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The history of this region is both complicated and fraught. Here is some context about what led up to the most recent attacks and counterattacks.
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NPR's Aya Batrawy and Daniel Estrin called the initial attack "one of the most dramatic escalations in violence in recent memory" adding there are "concerns the chaos could spread to the occupied West Bank and different countries in the Middle East."
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- This round of bloodshed began with a surprise attack by Palestinian fighters from Gaza into Israel during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. On Oct. 7, militants infiltrated Israel's border using paragliders, motorbikes and boats and fired thousands of rockets toward the country from Gaza.
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NPR's Fatima Al-Kassab reported on the history of the Gaza Strip. Some key excerpts:
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- The Gaza Strip is a 25-mile-long by 6-mile-wide enclave, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the north and east and Egypt to the south.
- Gaza is one of two Palestinian territories. The other is the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
- The strip has been under a blockade by Israel and Egypt, restricting the movement of people and goods since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Israel controls its airspace and shoreline, as well as what goods can cross Gaza's borders.
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NPR's Fatma Tanis examined how we got here and what might come next in this longstanding conflict.
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For anyone looking for guidance on how to talk to children about this war:
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Here's the latest on a growing movement on college campuses nationwide, as students organize against Israel's war in Gaza.
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Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.
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