They were released. And they’ve already spoken to the president on the phone Joe Biden. Judith Tai Raanan and his daughter, Natalie Raanan – in the hands of Hamas for 14 days – are free. Mother and daughter, Americans from Chicago visiting Israel on October 7, are the first to be released. Qatar confirmed its role in the release and said it would continue to mediate to ensure the release of all hostages. Biden, in his response to reporters, appeared to hope that the Israeli ground attack would be postponed. Then the clarification: “He thought he was answering a different question.” Meanwhile, the UN warns the population of Gaza City: “We have received a warning from Israel to leave the schools immediately.” At the level of humanitarian aid, Biden guarantees that the agreement has been reachedOpening of the Rafah border crossing Within 24 hours. However, the announcements have so far always had no consequences.
04:03
Hamas: “Working to release more hostages”
Hamas says it is “working with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and other friendly countries” to secure the release of other “foreign” hostages after the two American women. “We aim to implement our decision to release persons of foreign nationality into temporary detention as soon as the security situation permits.”
03:43
NYT: US calls on Israel to avoid attacks against Hezbollah
According to NYT Joe Biden and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken They “privately” called on Israel to avoid serious attacks against Hezbollah. Washington fears that some of the hawks in Israel’s war cabinet want a preemptive strike against Hezbollah that would leave Israel fighting on two fronts; Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north with the risk of drawing the USA and Iran into the conflict.
[[(gele.Finegil.Image2014v1) ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/BIDEN]]
03:15
Air raid warnings near Gaza
Air raid sirens sounded overnight in several Israeli communities near the border with Gaza. This was reported on the Times of Israel website.
03:15
A Hollywood star calls for a ceasefire in Gaza
Dozens of Hollywood stars have written a letter to President Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas “before another life is lost.”
Among others, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Oscar Isaac, Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Cate Blanchett, Hasan Minhaj, Jeremy Strong and Joaquin Phoenix have signed the call from the organization Artists4Ceasefire. The actors call for an end to the “devastating loss of life and horrors unfolding before our eyes” and say that “life is sacred in all cases, no matter what your faith or ethnicity.” The letter is followed by another letter in the same tone, signed on behalf of Artists for Palestine UK by celebrities including Tilda Swinton, Miriam Margolyes, Charles Dance, Steve Coogan, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake and Khalid Abdalla.
02:40
Biden corrects remarks on ground attack: ‘I didn’t hear the question’
A few minutes after the media following Joe Biden broke the news that the American president hopes to postpone the Israeli invasion of Gaza “until more hostages are freed,” the White House is correcting the situation. Biden “misunderstood the question,” we read in a note explaining that the president’s “yes” answer referred to the need for Hamas to release more hostages, not a postponement of the ground invasion.
02:22
Biden: “Israel should postpone invasion of Gaza”
Israel should delay a ground invasion. This was said by US President Joe Biden, who, as he boarded Air Force One to fly to Delaware over the weekend, answered “yes” to reporters who asked him whether it was appropriate for Israel to begin the invasion in Gaza to wait until this is the case in order to gain time in the negotiations for the release of the hostages.
02:01
Biden: “Hamas attack on relations between Israel and Arab states”
Hamas also attacked Israel in order to prevent normalization of relations with the Arab states. He said it Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Washington. “One of the reasons why they did this is because they knew that I would be at the negotiating table with Saudi Arabia,” emphasized the American president. “Because the Saudis wanted to recognize Israel and that would make the Middle East more unified,” Biden added.
01:05
Israeli army: 1,400 casualties in two weeks
The tally of the two-week conflict was reported by the Israel Defense Forces to be over 1,400 casualties. Over 4,600 injured. More than 200 hostages taken. More than 1,000 Hamas terrorists have been neutralized, many of them after infiltrating Israel. Dozens of senior Hamas terrorist leaders have been eliminated.”
War with Hamas
2-week review:Over 6,900 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel (more than 450 misses within the Gaza Strip).
More than 1,400 dead.
More than 4,600 injured.
Over 200 hostages taken.More than 1,000 Hamas terrorists have been neutralized, many after infiltrating Israel.
Dozens of high-ranking Hamas terrorists…— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 20, 2023
00:52
The father of one of the released women: “She is fine”
The father and grandfather of the two Americans released by Hamas spoke to his daughter and said she was “fine.” The Associated Press reports. “He’s fine. He’s doing very well,” said Uri Raanan, who lives in a Chicago suburb. The 71-year-old said he saw on the news that Hamas was releasing an American mother and daughter and spent the day hoping it focused on his daughter Judith Raanan and his granddaughter, 17-year-old Natalie , based. Raanan also explained that the two women are expected to travel to Tel Aviv and then the United States in time for her niece’s 18th birthday next week.
00:20
UN: “Immediately evacuate five schools in Gaza City”
The United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) has received a warning from Israel to evacuate five schools in Gaza City “as soon as possible.” “We have done everything we can to protest and reject this decision, but this means that these facilities are no longer safe from now on,” UNRWA wrote in a statement. The schools, currently full of refugees, are close to Al-Ahli Hospital, where a terrible explosion occurred on Tuesday.
00:17
Biden to the two women freed by Hamas: “We will help you get out of the ordeal”
The President of the United States Joe Biden spoke with the two American women who were freed by Hamas after nearly two weeks of captivity. After the phone call with the family of the two former hostages, Biden sought to directly reassure Chicago residents Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana, telling them that “they will have all the support of the US government to get out of this terrible ordeal.” .
(afp) 00:01
Qatar on the hostages: “We will continue the dialogue”
The Qatari Foreign Ministry confirmed its role in the release of the first two hostages held by Hamas and said it would continue to mediate negotiations to secure the release of all hostages still held. “Today’s breakthrough comes after many days of continuous communication between all parties involved,” Majid Al-Ansari, official spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said in a statement. “We will continue our dialogue with both the Israelis and Hamas and hope that these efforts will lead to the release of all civilian hostages of all nationalities.”
