Two American hostages, a mother and her daughter, have been released by Hamas, the Israeli officials said on Friday.
Mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan were taken hostage by Hamas at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, in southern Israel
The pair were among the 200 hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas during the attacks on 7 October.
The White House confirmed that US President Joe Biden has spoken with Judith and Natalie Raanan.
“This afternoon, the president spoke by phone with the family of the two Americans released today after being taken hostage by Hamas during the horrific terrorist assault against Israel,” the White House said in a statement.
Earlier, Biden said he was overjoyed when he heard the news of the release of the hostages.
He said US citizens held hostage by Hamas since 7 October had “endured a terrible ordeal these past 14 days”, adding they will have the full support of the US government as they “recover and heal”.
Biden thanked both the Qatari and Israel governments for working together to secure their release, and said his government was working “around the clock” to free US citizens taken hostage by Hamas.
“As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans held hostage around the world.”
