Live updates | Hamas frees 2 American hostages, even as Israel airstrikes continue in southern Gaza
In this photo provided by the Government of Israel, Judith Raanan, right, and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie are escorted by Israeli soldiers and Gal Hirsch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's special coordinator for returning the hostages, as they return to Israel from captivity in the Gaza Strip, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Hamas released the pair in what it said was a goodwill gesture late Friday, nearly two weeks after they were captured in a bloody cross-border raid by the Islamic militant group. The Hamas attack sparked a war that is entering its third week, and Hamas is believed to still be holding some 200 people hostage.
Palestinias attend a funeral of people killed during an Israeli military raid on a Palestinian refugee camp, Nur Shams, in the West Bank on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
This image provided by Maxar Technologies shows aid trucks waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
Israeli soldiers gather in a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
Israeli young men look at photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza, displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv, on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas militants and supporters organise a mass Sabbath dinner calling for the return of more than 200 hostages by Hamas militants on Oct. 7.
Palestinians boy walks by the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment on al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
Egyptians wave national and Palestinian flags as the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's motorcade arrives at the Rafah border crossing, Egypt, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
Israel says Hamas has freed two American hostages who had been held in Gaza since militants rampaged through southern Israel Oct. 7. The hostage release Friday came even as Israeli airstrikes continued to hit southern Gaza, an area swelled by civilians who fled there from the north on Israeli instructions.
Israel was also evacuating a sizable town near the Lebanese border in the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.
Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy airstrikes in the southern city of Khan Younis, where civilians had been told to seek safety amid Israel鈥檚 bombardment of areas closer to the Israeli border.
The U.N. secretary general is at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza trying to find a way to get badly needed aid into the enclave.
The war, which is in its 14th day on Friday, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that 4,137 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,000 others wounded.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial attack on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel. In addition, 203 people were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said.
Currently:
1. Israel says Hamas has released two U.S. hostages who had been held in Gaza for two weeks.
2. U.S. President Joe Biden meets with European leaders to assure them the U.S. can deliver wartime aid to Ukraine and Israel.
3. Israel says it wants to eradicate Hamas and other resistance fighters in Gaza Strip but doesn鈥檛 plan to take responsibility for the besieged region after the war.
4. Thousands have been displaced from Lebanese border towns.
5. Demonstrations have erupted in cities worldwide to protest the war.
Here鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
BIDEN THINKS HAMAS ATTACK LINKED TO EFFORTS ON ISRAEL-SAUDI RELATIONS
WASHINGTON 鈥 President Joe Biden said he thinks Hamas鈥 initial attack on Israel was tied in part to efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, an initiative that Biden was trying to bring to fruition.
鈥淭hey knew that I was about to sit down with the Saudis,鈥 the U.S. president said Friday, speaking at a fundraiser.
IRAN-BACKED MILITIAS IN IRAQ WARN U.S. FORCES TO LEAVE OR FACE MORE ATTACKS
BAGHDAD 鈥 A group of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq said U.S. forces 鈥渕ust leave immediately鈥 or their bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region will continue to come under attack.
Militant groups have launched rocket and drone attacks in recent days against U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, most of which were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The group has said the attacks are retaliation for Washington鈥檚 support of Israel and a warning not to intervene in the Israel-Hamas war.
鈥淭hese are only warning messages to them, and serious work has not yet begun,鈥 the militias said in a statement.
The statement concluded by saying that if Israel launches a ground invasion into Gaza, 鈥渨atch the border with Jordan carefully.鈥 It did not elaborate.
EGYPT OFFICIAL SAYS AID TRUCKS ENTERED RAFAH CROSSING BUT HAVEN鈥橳 PASSED INTO GAZA STRIP
CAIRO 鈥 An Egypt official said two aid-packed trucks entered the Egyptian side of the border crossing early Saturday, but that they have not passed through into the Gaza Strip.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not briefed to speak with the media.
Israel announced Wednesday that aid would be allowed into Gaza from Egypt, via the Rafah crossing, but the border into the besieged territory has remained closed. Egypt says the crossing has been damaged by Israeli air strikes.
Associated Press reporter Ashraf Sweilam in el-Arish, Egypt, contributed.
FRENCH PRESIDENT HOPES RELEASE OF U.S. HOSTAGES LEADS TO FREEDOM FOR OTHERS
PARIS 鈥 French President Emmanuel Macron said the release of two Americans who were held hostage in Gaza is 鈥渁 very good result鈥 and expressed hope it could help pave the way for others to be freed, including French-Israelis.
So far, France has one confirmed hostage, 21-year-old Mia Schem, who was shown dazed and injured in a video that Hamas鈥 military wing released Monday.
Six other French citizens also are missing and Macron said Friday that they鈥檙e presumed to be hostages 鈥渂ut without certainty.鈥
French contacts with Israeli authorities and other contacts via Qatar 鈥渒eep up our hope that we will be able to find solutions to get the maximum number of hostages out,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e are confident: the channels we have are the good ones and are useful,鈥 he said.
Macron said he is still weighing the possibility of traveling to the Middle East but that it would be dependent on more talks with leaders in the region.
He also announced 10 million euros ($10.6 million) in additional humanitarian aid for Palestinians and said urgent aid, including medicines, will be airfreighted to Egypt.
NOBEL LAUREATES鈥 PETITION URGES HAMAS TO FREE CHILD HOSTAGES
UNITED NATIONS 鈥 A petition signed by 86 Nobel peace laureates demands that Hamas release all children taken hostage, saying holding them in captivity 鈥渃onstitutes a war crime, a grievous offense against humanity itself.鈥
The petition noted that the Geneva Convention on safeguarding civilians in war mentions children 19 times, stressing that the 鈥渃urrent plight of the kidnapped children far exceeds any scenario envisioned by the accord.鈥
鈥淐hildren should never be regarded as pawns in the theater of war,鈥 it said. 鈥淚t is our sacred duty to protect the innocent and shield the vulnerable.鈥
FRANCE SAYS GAZA HOSPITAL BLAST LIKELY CAUSED BY MISFIRED PALESTINIAN ROCKET
PARIS 鈥 French military intelligence assesses that the most probable hypothesis for the explosion at Gaza City鈥檚 al-Ahli Hospital was that it was caused by a Palestinian rocket that was carrying an explosive charge of about 5 kilograms (11 pounds) that possibly misfired.
Several rockets in the arsenal of Palestinian militant group Hamas carry explosive charges of about that weight, include an Iranian-made rocket and another that is Palestinian-made, said a senior French military intelligence official.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence assessment, cleared to do so by President Emmanuel Macron in what was described as an attempt to be transparent about the French findings.
The official said none of their intelligence points to an Israeli strike.
Associated Press writer John Leicester contributed from Paris.
U.S. MAN HAILS THE RELEASE OF HIS DAUGHTER AND EX-WIFE WHO WERE HELD BY HAMAS
CHICAGO 鈥 A man whose Chicago-area daughter and former wife were abducted by Hamas in southern Israel says he has spoken to his daughter since her release and he believes she will be home soon.
鈥淪he鈥檚 doing good. She鈥檚 doing very good,鈥 Uri Raanan, who is based in the Chicago suburb of Bannockburn, said Friday. 鈥淚鈥檓 in tears, and I feel very, very good.鈥
The 71-year-old said he saw on the news Friday that Hamas was releasing an American mother and daughter, and he spent the day hoping they meant his ex-wife, Judith Raanan, and his 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, who live in Evanston.
He said he believes both are on their way to Tel Aviv to reunite with relatives before returning to the U.S., meaning Natalie will be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week with family and friends.
This story has been corrected to reflect that Judith and Natalie Raanan are Uri Raanan鈥檚 former wife and daughter, not his daughter and granddaughter.
ISRAELI PM SAYS EFFORT CONTINUES TO BRING ALL HOSTAGES HOME
TEL AVIV 鈥 Israel says it continues to push for the release of civilians taken hostage by Hamas during a raid on southern Israel almost two weeks ago.
Hamas militants took more than 200 hostages during its Oct. 7 raid. Hamas released two of those hostages, a woman and her teenage daughter from the United States, on Friday.
鈥淭wo of our abducted are home,鈥 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. 鈥淲e are not giving up the effort to bring all of the hostages and missing people home. At the same time, we are continuing to fight until victory.鈥
U.N. CHIEF WORKS TO REOPEN RAFAH CROSSING AND ENSURE SUFFICIENT FUEL FOR AID DELIVERIES
UNITED NATIONS 鈥 U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is working with Egypt, Israel, the United States and others to ease an impasse that is preventing aid from entering Gaza.
The priority is to make sure humanitarian aid deliveries are sustained, 鈥渨ith a meaningful number of trucks approved each day to cross鈥 from Egypt into Gaza at the Rafah crossing, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Friday. And the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, must have sufficient fuel to distribute humanitarian aid, Haq said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no use dropping off aid to the other side and then leaving it there because their trucks simply don鈥檛 have enough fuel to give it to the people who need it,鈥 he said.
BLINKEN SAYS U.S. PUSHING HARD FOR OTHER HOSTAGES鈥 FREEDOM
WASHINGTON 鈥 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he welcomes the release of the two hostages and shared in the families鈥 relief but noted there are many more captives, including children and elderly people.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Blinken said he and President Joe Biden had been able to speak with the families of some of the hostages during their trips to the Middle East.
鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to adequately put into words the agony that they鈥檙e feeling,鈥 Blinken said. 鈥淣o family anywhere should have to experience this torture.鈥
Of the remaining hostages, he added: 鈥淭he entire United States government will work every minute of every day to secure their release and bring their loved ones home.鈥
Blinken also thanked the Qataris for their work in securing the hostages鈥 release.
U.S. PRESIDENT CELEBRATES RELEASE OF 2 AMERICANS TAKEN HOSTAGE BY HAMAS
WASHINGTON 鈥 President Joe Biden is celebrating the release of a Chicago-area woman and her teenage daughter who had been visiting Israel when they were taken hostage by Hamas militants Oct. 7.
The Israeli military said Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, were released to the Israeli military Friday. Hamas said the Qatari government was instrumental in securing their release.
鈥淥ur fellow citizens have endured a terrible ordeal these past 14 days, and I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear,鈥 Biden said in a statement.
Thanking the governments of Qatar and Israel for their help, Biden said the White House had been 鈥渨orking around-the-clock鈥 to secure the release of American hostages 鈥渁nd we have not ceased our efforts to secure the release of those who are still being held.鈥
ISRAEL SAYS HAMAS HAS RELEASED TWO U.S. HOSTAGES
JERUSALEM 鈥 Hamas militants on Friday freed two Americans, a mother and her teenage daughter, who had been held hostage in Gaza since militants rampaged through Israel two weeks ago, the Israeli government said.
The pair, who also hold Israeli citizenship, were the first hostages to be released. More than 200 are still being held.
The two Americans, Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, were out of the Gaza Strip and in the hands of the Israeli military, an army spokesman said. Hamas said it was releasing them in an agreement with the Qatari government for humanitarian reasons.
Judith and Natalie Ranaan had been on a trip to southern Israel from their home in suburban Chicago to celebrate a Jewish holiday, family said. They had been staying at the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, near Gaza, when Hamas fighters took them and more than 200 others hostage.
Relatives of other captives welcomed the release and appealed for others to be freed.
鈥淲e call on world leaders and the international community to exert their full power in order to act for the release of all the hostages and missing,鈥 the statement said.
DOZENS KILLED IN GAZA AIRSTRIKES MOURNED
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip 鈥 Funeralgoers on Friday mourned the deaths of 40 people killed by air strikes in the Gaza Strip.
The dead included 22 members of two families in Deir al-Balah, and 18 displaced Palestinians who had taken shelter in a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City.
A distraught woman screamed in anguish outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Other women sat on a curb and stroked the feet of some of the bodies laid out on the ground covered in white sheets.
The sheets were pulled back to reveal the faces of two children. Two men knelt at their heads and caressed their faces.
Outside the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, the Orthodox patriarch swung a burner of smoldering incense as he walked around 18 bodies, including four children, killed when an airstrike toppled a church wall.
Clergy prayed and sang during the service attended by dozens in a courtyard behind the church.
This story has been corrected to show that Israel said the number of suspected captives is 203, not 206.