The IDF confirmed that two hostages have been released by Hamas: Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter, Natalie Raanan, 17. Their conditions were not immediately clear.
The Raanans are from Illinois. Ben Raanan, the brother of Natalie Raanan and son of Judith Raanan, said his mom and sister were in Israel for a relative’s birthday when they were taken hostage at the Nahal Oz kibbutz.
“Judith is a really kind, giving, sharing, generous individual who always wants to be there for others,” Rabbi Meir Hecht, co-director of Chabad of Evanston with his wife, Yehudis, told Chabad.org. “She would come to our house and bring gifts to our kids. She wanted to be with our family and our community, attending our programs and helping out any way she could.”
We hope and Daven for the release of all hostages, Besuros Tovos.
Hamas says in a statement they released U.S. mother & daughter 'for humanitarian reasons,' to prove that 'claims made by U.S. President Biden and his fascist administration are false'
Two of Judith and Natalie Raanan's family members were murdered, 10 others remain captive pic.twitter.com/ZqeVN2UxQG
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 20, 2023
🚨 BREAKING: Initial reports indicate that #Hamas has handed over 2 Jewish American hostages from Chicago – a mother and daughter (17-year-old Natalie Raanan and 59-year-old Judith Raanan) – to the Red Cross following pressure from Qatar. Natalie and Judith came to Israel to… pic.twitter.com/Zu50cQ9Zip
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) October 20, 2023
