FOG BLOG HAMAS WAR LOG: 2 AMERICAN HOSTAGES RELEASED, 2 ISRAELI WOMEN RELEASED AS WELL!

Judith and Natalie were the first hostages to be freed on Oct. 20. Hamas said in a statement at the time that it released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement brokered by the government of Qatar. Hamas releases 2 more Israeli hostages

Militant group says detainees freed for humanitarian reasons Hamas released two Israeli women held hostage in Gaza on Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed.

The release of the two hostages, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz and 79-year-old Nurit Cooper, was confirmed by the ICRC after Hamas released a statement earlier about the release.

The two women, along with their husbands, were taken from their homes in the kibbutz of Nir Oz near the Gaza border in Hamas's Oct. 7 rampage through towns of southern Israel. Their husbands were not released.

"We are very emotional and happy," said Daniel Lifshitz, grandson of Yocheved Lifshitz.

"We hope that this will only open a door for the rest of the captives to be released, which is most important, even more than their release."