Two American hostages freed by Hamas - BBC News

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 08:57:19 +0000

Hamas has released two US hostages who were abducted during the Palestinian group's deadly raid on Israel.

Israel confirmed that mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan had been handed over to them from Hamas at the Gaza border.

It follows a visit to Israel by the US President Joe Biden.

Hamas said the pair were freed for "humanitarian reasons".

They were the first captives released since the gunmen raided Israel on 7 October, killing 1,400 people and taking around 200 hostages.

More than 4,000 people have since been killed in Israeli air and artillery strikes in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.

Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Jeremy Bowen in Jerusalem and Sarah Smith in Washington.

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