Two elderly Israeli woman held hostage in Gaza were released Monday by Hamas with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Associated Press reports:
The release of the two hostages, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz and 79-year-old Nurit Cooper, was confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The two women, along with their husbands, were snatched from their homes in the kibbutz of Nir Oz near the Gaza border in Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage through towns of southern Israel. Their husbands were not released.
The elderly women were released into the care of the ICRC in Egypt at the Rafah border crossing and were met there by Israeli officials, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Their release follows Friday’s release of an American mother and daughter, 59-year-old Judith Tai Raanan and 17-year-old Natalie Raanan, by Hamas.
The Jerusalem Post also reports:
The women had been freed after 20 trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza, and amid reports that Qatar separately had secured the release of some 50 hostages with foreign passports. These two women were both Israeli and were not part of that deal.
Roughly 220 other hostages, including 10 Americans, remain captive by Hamas in Gaza. In his Oval Office address last Thursday, 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 news of Monday’s hostage release comes as Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza.
Following remarks on Monday about his economic policies, Biden was asked whether his administration was negotiating the release of the hostages in exchange for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
“We should have a ceasefire. Not a ceasefire. We should have those hostages released and then we can talk,” Biden replied.