Hostages set free as tanks mass on border

ISRAEL READY TO STORM GAZA

- Mark Reynolds

TWO US hostages were released by Hamas last night as tens of thousands of Israeli troops massed along the Gaza border.

Judith Ranaan, aged around 60, and her daughter Natalie, 17, were freed after mediation by Qatar "for humanitarian reasons".

It came after US President Joe Biden condemned Hamas and vowed to back Israel in the wake of atrocities against its people.

Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida said freeing the hostages was to "prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless".

Ms Ranaan and Natalie were later confirmed to be in the hands of the Israeli military.

The Ranaan family said the mother and daughter had been on a trip from their home in Chicago to Israel to celebrate the Jewish holidays. They were in a kibbutz near Gaza on October 7 when Hamas fighters stormed out of the territory into Israeli towns on a killing and hostage-taking spree.

Natalie's brother Ben said the family heard nothing from them after the attack and were later told by US and Israeli officials that they were being held in Gaza. Relatives of other captives welcomed the release. They said in a statement: "We 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." More than 200 hostages are believed to be held in Gaza including up to 20 children.