Hamas has released two American hostages in Gaza, offering hope to desperate families, as Israel pounded blockaded Gaza after the group took over 200 people hostage and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians when it stormed into Israeli towns on October 7.
However, despite the release of hostages from Gaza, Israel has continued to pound the territory where millions waited for the promised aid deliveries on Saturday, which have been stuck for days at Egypt’s Rafah border.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross president, Mirjana Spoljaric, the release of Judith and Natalie Raanan, mother and daughter, offers hope to Israelis amid uncertainty over the fate of hostages. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden rejoiced at the recent development while millions are left homeless in Gaza.
The release of the hostages follows Biden’s visit to Israel to express solidarity and demand humanitarian aid for Gaza.
Trucks carrying relief, a “lifeline”, according to the United Nations, are stuck on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. Biden predicts movement could begin within the next “24 to 48 hours”.
Soon after the release of hostages, Israel pledged to destroy Hamas, after the group killed around 1,500 Israeli fighters in recent violent clashes.
Additionally, Biden said Friday he believes the attack was motivated partly by Saudi Arabia’s plan to recognise Israel, AFP reported.
Israel’s military campaign has levelled entire city blocks in Gaza, resulting in over 4,000 Palestinian martyrs, which include mostly civilians and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Israeli troops are preparing for a planned ground invasion of Gaza, despite the potential risks, including hostages from Israel and around the world held by Hamas in the region that is being relentlessly bombed by Israeli forces.
Hamas releases hostages amid relentless Israeli air strikes
Biden promised US support to the released hostages and thanked Qatar for mediation in securing their release. He pledged his tireless efforts to win the return of other American hostages, despite there being no immediate details about their health.
Natalie Raanan’s half-brother Ben told BBC he felt an “overwhelming sense of joy” at the release after “the most horrible of ordeals.”
Hamas said Egypt and Qatar had negotiated the release and it was “working with all mediators to implement the movement’s decision to close the civilian (hostage) file if appropriate security conditions allow”.
There is little information about the hostages, though Israel’s military said Friday that “the majority” are still alive, and agonised families have demanded more action.
In Gaza, Israeli jets continued a relentless bombing campaign, with the military saying it hit more than 100 Hamas targets overnight.
Witnesses heard loud explosions and saw plumes of smoke billowing from the northern Gaza Strip, which Israel has demanded Palestinian civilians leave for their own safety.
Israel vows to ‘fight until victory’
Soon after Hamas freed two US hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared he would “fight until victory” in Gaza, indicating there would be no break in his military’s bombardment and anticipated invasion of the territory.
Since Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel and killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped almost 200 others, they were the first hostages verified by both sides of the conflict to be released.
“Two of our abductees are at home. We are not giving up on the effort to return all abducted and missing people,” Netanyahu said in a statement released late Friday night.
“At the same time, we’ll continue to fight until victory,” he added.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking in front of a parliamentary committee, said achieving Israel’s objectives would not be quick or easy.
“We will topple the Hamas organisation. We will destroy its military and governing infrastructure. It’s a phase that will not be easy. It will have a price,” Gallant said.
He added that the subsequent phase would be more drawn out, but was aimed at achieving “a completely different security situation” with no threat to Israel from Gaza. “It’s not a day, it’s not a week, and unfortunately it’s not a month,” he said.
Israel-Saudi Arabia normalisation
President Biden hinted on Friday that Hamas’s unexpected attack was intended to sabotage Riyadh’s possible normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Biden stated at a campaign fundraiser that Saudi Arabia wished to recognise Israel.
Riyadh has refused to follow suit, arguing that the objectives of Palestinian statehood should come first.
“One of the reasons Hamas moved on Israel … they knew that I was about to sit down with the Saudis,” Biden said. “Guess what? The Saudis wanted to recognise Israel.”
The potential normalisation of relations with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states was a top priority for Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his June trip to Riyadh, although he acknowledged no progress should be expected imminently.
Blinken told CNN on October 8 that “it wouldn’t be a surprise that part of the motivation (for the attack) may have been to disrupt efforts to bring Saudi Arabia and Israel together.”
Biden told CBS’ 60 Minutes in an interview that aired last Sunday that the prospect of normalisation was “still alive, it’s going to take time.”
‘Life and death’
Some 2.4 million Palestinians live in the densely populated enclave, and almost half have been displaced, according to the UN. Israel has cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food to the long-blockaded territory.
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Friday that humanitarian relief stuck in Egypt was “the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza.”
