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'She's doing good': Father of freed US teenage hostage turns emotional after speaking to her

Natalie Raanan, who was among the roughly 200 people that Hamas held hostage, may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at her home in Chicago with family and friends

Published: Sat 21 Oct 2023, 5:54 PM

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  • AP

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The father of freed American teen hostage Natalie Raanan said Friday she’s doing well following two weeks in captivity after she and her mother were abducted in Israel by Hamas and held in Gaza.

Uri Raanan of Illinois told The Associated Press that he spoke to his daughter on Friday by telephone. “She’s doing good. She’s doing very good,” said Uri, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. “I’m in tears, and I feel very, very good.”

The 71-year-old said he saw on the news earlier Friday that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas, and he spent the day hoping that meant his daughter and her mother, Judith Raanan.

Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at home with family and friends feels “wonderful. The best news,” her father said.

Ben Raanan, Natalie's brother, said before her abduction he and his sister had spoken of getting matching tattoos to mark her birthday. Instead, he got a tattoo this week in her honour, incorporating their names along with their brother's name.

The family's text message chain sharing updates on Friday moved from tentative hope to outright celebration, tempered by an awareness that other families are still living in fear for their loved ones, Ben told AP at his home in Denver.

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“When I see her again, I think there aren't going to be words to express what's going on," he said. “It's just going to be like this intense hug that is bigger than words and bigger than what we could actually communicate verbally.”

Uri said he believes Natalie and Judith to be in transit to Tel Aviv to reunite with relatives, and that both will be back in the US early next week.

An Israeli army spokesperson said the two Americans were out of the Gaza Strip and with the Israeli military. Hamas said Friday it released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government.

They were the first hostages to be released since Hamas militants, according to Israel, abducted roughly 200 people during their October 7 rampage.

'No idea why they were chosen'

Uri Raanan said later Friday in a short news conference that he spoke with his daughter for only a few emotional minutes and that they didn't talk about what she and her mother experienced in the past two weeks. He said Judith has a minor injury he described as a “little scratch” on her hand.

“They look good and sound good,” he said, adding that when he sees his daughter he plans to hug her and kiss her. “It's going to be the best day of my life.”

He also said he didn't know why they were chosen for release.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which transported the freed Americans from Gaza to Israel, said their release offered "a sliver of hope” for those still being held.

Judith, 59, and Natalie, who both have dual Israeli-American citizenship, had been on a trip from their home in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to Israel to celebrate Judith’s mother’s birthday and the Jewish holidays, family members said.

Natalie was born in the US, moved to Israel with Judith until she was around 10 and then returned, her father said.

Mother and daughter were in Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds of people and abducting others.

Their family had heard nothing from them since the attack and were later told by U.S. and Israeli officials that they were being held in Gaza, Natalie’s brother has said.

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Qatar said it would continue its dialogue with Israel and Hamas in hopes of winning the release of all hostages “with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace.”

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israel was continuing to work to return hostages and find the missing, and its goals had not changed. “We are continuing the war against Hamas and ready for the next stage of the war,” he said.

The release comes amid growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says is aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who rule Gaza.



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