Biden, others, welcome the release of an American mother and daughter held hostage by Hamas

Published October 20, 2023 3:17 PM

By CLAIRE SAVAGE, MELISSA PEREZ WINDER and LISA BAUMANN
Associated Press

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and others were reacting Friday to the news from Israel that Hamas had freed an American woman and her teenage daughter it had held hostage in Gaza. It was the first such release from among the roughly 200 people the militant group abducted from Israel during its Oct. 7 rampage. Biden said he was overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear. An Israeli army spokesman said the two Americans, Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, were out of the Gaza Strip and with the Israeli military. Hamas said it released them for humanitarian reasons in a deal with the Qatari government.

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