They traveled together from the American city of Evanston, Illinois, to Israel to celebrate a birthday and a Jewish holiday with relatives. There, Judith Raanan (59) and her daughter Natalie (18) were surprised by the Hamas terrorist attack and taken hostage. They were released on Friday, almost two weeks later. “They are innocent and loving, they have done nothing.”
Ranaan and her daughter traveled to Israel to celebrate a relative’s 85th birthday and the Jewish holiday season, according to their rabbi. They were celebrating Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday, at Nahal Oz, a kibbutz in Israel more than a mile from the Gaza border.
Their family had not heard from the two since the Hamas attack. “We have received the terrible news that Judith and her daughter Natalie are missing and most likely taken to Gaza as hostages,” their rabbi Meir Hecht told Israeli media.
Released
The two are related to the wife of Martin Fletcher, the former NBC Middle East and Israel correspondent. Mother Judith is an operating room nurse. Natalie Raanan had recently graduated from high school and was looking forward to getting away and visiting her family, her uncle Avi Zamir said Thursday evening at a gathering for the Ranaans in Evanston, Illinois.
“She is a nice person. A treasure. She loves animals,” Zamir said. “We are waiting for her. We pray for her. We hope she is with her mother.” Natalie Raanan’s aunt, Sigal Zamir, said: “I pray for them to come back alive. They are innocent and loving, they have done nothing.”
On Friday, Hamas suddenly released the two American hostages “for humanitarian reasons” after mediation by Qatar. According to Hebrew media, the two were handed over to the International Red Cross in Gaza, which then handed them over to Israel, reports the Times of Israel.
US President Joe Biden has welcomed the release. “Our fellow citizens have endured a terrible ordeal over the past fourteen days,” Biden said in a statement. In it he says he is ‘overjoyed’ that the two will soon be reunited with their families and reiterates that they are supported by the American government. The President thanks the governments of Qatar and Israel for their assistance in the release.
Biden says he is working day and night to free all kidnapped Americans. “As I told the families last week, we will not stop until we get their loved ones home.” At least twenty Americans have been missing since October 7. It is not clear how many were kidnapped.
Prove
Hamas also says the move will “prove to the American people and the world” that the claims of US President Joe Biden and “his fascist government are false and baseless.” Biden had said during his recent visit to Israel that Hamas does not represent the entire Palestinian people and has “brought nothing but suffering” to the Palestinians.
The al-Qassam Brigades reported earlier this week that about 250 hostages are being held captive. They were kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. At least 22 kidnapped prisoners are believed to have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the al-Qassam Brigades said.
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