Hamas unexpectedly releases American hostages
(Baonghean.vn) - This militant group said it had released a woman and her daughter for "humanitarian reasons".
Hamas has released two American hostages, a spokesman for the Palestinian militant group said on October 20. The group said it was freeing the hostages to prove that President Joe Biden’s “fascist” administration was wrong, RT reported.
“In response to Qatar’s efforts, the Al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens on humanitarian grounds,” Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida said in a statement.
He added that the move was intended to “prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist regime are false and baseless.”
According to RT, it is unclear which statement of Biden's Obaida was referring to, however, it is possible that the Hamas spokesman was referring to the US leader's statement on October 18 that the group's fighters "have committed atrocities that make the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) look more reasonable."
Obaida said the two freed Americans were mother and daughter. As of late Monday, neither the U.S. nor Israeli authorities had confirmed the release of the women, although the Red Cross told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that it had received the women. Israeli media identified them as Judith and Natalie Raanan.
According to CNN, Qatar has confirmed the release of the two American hostages and said they will "continue dialogue with Israel and Hamas in the hope of releasing all civilian hostages of all nationalities."
The source also revealed that US President Biden expressed "extreme joy" that the two US citizens would "soon be reunited with their families" and called for ensuring their privacy.
Meanwhile, RT reported that Hamas claims to be holding around 200 hostages in Gaza. Earlier this week, senior Hamas official Khaled Mashaal offered to swap Israeli hostages with Palestinians in Israeli prisons, while foreign hostages would be released “when circumstances allow.”
More than 20 Americans are believed to be missing since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel nearly two weeks ago, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on October 17. Republican Senator Jim Risch said this week that 10 of them are being held in Gaza.
“We will do everything in our power to bring them home if we can find them,” Biden told CBS News earlier this week. The US president did not go into detail about his administration’s efforts to rescue the hostages, nor did he mention the involvement of the Qatari government as a mediator in the negotiations.
