The Israeli government has released the first photograph of the two American hostages, a mother and daughter, since their release on Friday by the Hamas terrorists who held them captive in Gaza.
The photo shows 59-year-old Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan, being escorted by Israeli soldiers on Friday, following their release by Hamas, which continues to hold an estimated 200 men, women, and children hostage, including ten Americans. Gal Hirsch, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s special coordinator for returning the hostages, is seen in the photo holding the hands of the freed Americans.
Judith Raanan, right, and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, are escorted by Israeli soldiers and Gal Hirsch, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s special coordinator for returning the hostages, as they return to Israel from captivity in the Gaza Strip on Friday, October 20, 2023. (Government of Israel via AP Photo)
Judith, a aesthetician from Evanston, Illinois, and Natalie, a recent graduate of Deerfield High School, were in Israel to visit their family members at Kibbutz Nahal Oz for the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, when they were kidnapped by Hamas during the surprise attack on October 7.
Judith’s sister told Time magazine the events surround her sister and niece’s kidnapping:
Saturday morning, we woke up to a devastating war. There were 150 terrorists in the kibbutz. I was in touch with [Natalie and Judith] through WhatsApp messages, because everybody there was told not to speak over the phone, or just whisper. The last message was at 12:18. Natalie wrote that they’re hearing shots, and they’re in the security room. And they’re OK and they love us. That was the last signal of life we had from them. They stopped answering me.
…
Hamas took the two husbands and Judith and Natalie handcuffed into a car, they were alive and uninjured according to the eyewitness. We know that they can be found alive. We know from an eyewitness that Hamas took them uninjured. This is why we have hope. We know that they left there on their feet, unharmed, from that apartment. But since then, we know nothing. And this is why time is crucial.
Members of the Chabad of Evanston, Illinois, attend a prayer vigil for Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in Evanston. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Members of the Chabad of Evanston, Ill., Yehudis Hecht, center, and her daughter Chana, and Maayan Hill, left, and her daughter Emilia, where Judith Raanan attended, light candles to mark the beginning of Shabbat on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Evanston. Raanan and her daughter Natalie were released Friday from their captivity in Gaza. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Members of the Chabad of Evanston, Ill., where Judith Raanan attended, cover their eyes as they pray at the beginning of Shabbat on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Evanston. Raanan and her daughter Natalie were released Friday from their captivity in Gaza. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Asher King-Yariv, a member of the Chabad of Evanston, Illinois, hugs his mother at the beginning of Shabbat on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Evanston. Judith Raanan, a member of Chabad, and her daughter Natalie were released Friday from their captivity in Gaza. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
During his Friday press briefing, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the release of the two Americans, saying that he “shares in the relief that their families, friends, and loved ones are feeling.”
However, Blinken also noted that “there are still 10 additional Americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict,” among the estimated 200 still held by Hamas.
The Israeli government reported on X (formerly Twitter) that the Raanans are being escorted to an army base in central Israel where members of their family are waiting to greet them.
In his Oval Office address on Thursday night, President Joe Biden stated, “As I told the families of Americans being held captive by Hamas, we’re pursuing every avenue to bring their loved ones home. As President, there is no higher priority for me than the safety of Americans held hostage.”
The Raanans were transported from Gaza to Israel by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which helped facilitate their release. In a statement Friday, the ICRC said it remains “ready to visit the remaining hostages and to facilitate any future release following an agreement reached by the parties.”