BREAKING: Hamas releases kidnapped mom, daughter from Illinois

BREAKING: Hamas releases kidnapped mom, daughter from Illinois

An American mom and daughter who were kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas for two weeks were released and returned to Israel on Friday night, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to The Daily Beast.

Israeli authorities identified the women as Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, who were captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7 invasion. The spokesperson said Israeli officials received the mom and daughter—who live in Evanston, Illinois—at Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.

“At this moment they are on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the center of the country, where their family members are waiting for them,” the spokesperson said in a statement around 9:30 p.m. local time.

“I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear,” the statement said. “These individuals and their family will have the full support of the United States government as they recover and heal.”

A source told the The Jerusalem Post that Judith, 59, is in “poor health.” Natalie, who graduated high school this spring, turns 18 next week, according to her brother Ben Raanan.

Inside the Risky Mission to Rescue Hostages From Hamas

The women had been staying near the Gaza border at a kibbutz, where they’d traveled to celebrate Judith’s mother’s 85th birthday. Loved ones have waited in agony ever since—raising nearly $10,000 with a GoFundMe fundraiser.

Hamas claimed in a statement that it had cut the duo loose for “humanitarian reasons” in response to “Qatari efforts.” They did not specify what role Qatar played in the hostage release.

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In a statement, Al-Qassam said the release was also to “prove to the American people and the world that the allegations of Biden and his fascist administration are false allegations that have no basis in truth.”

The Israeli newspaper Haaertz reported that the two women were handed over to the Red Cross to coordinate their return to Israel.

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Hamas is believed to have kidnapped at least 203 people from Israel, including women, children, and the elderly—largely from Israeli communities near the Gaza border. Recordings of some hostages have been released by Hamas, but the status of a majority of those kidnapped remains unknown.

“Jill and I have been holding close in our hearts all the families of unaccounted for Americans,” Biden said in his statement. “And, as I told those families when I spoke with them last week—we will not stop until we get their loved ones home.”

Raanan family members told the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this month that they lost all contact with Judith and Natalie around noon on Oct. 7. They’d reportedly been staying in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz about 1.5 miles from the Gaza border, where Hamas’ surprise attack quickly overran Israeli defenses.

They’d arrived in Israel in early September to celebrate the High Holidays with loved ones, family told the Sun-Times.

Uri Raanan, Natalie’s father, told The Daily Beast that he received confirmation his daughter and ex-wife were being held hostage on Oct. 13, a week before their release.

In an online fundraiser, he wrote: “My daughter and ex-wife got captured by Hamas and taken to Gaza last October 7th. I know they are alive. Please help us.”

BREAKING: Hamas releases kidnapped mom, daughter from Illinois

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