E fundit!

14:36 POLITICS

Voting on the $302 million agreement/ DP boycotts the session

The DP has decided not to be part of the session expected ...

Hamas released two American hostages, a mother and daughter

2023-10-20 20:19:15, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hamas released two American hostages, a mother and daughter

A wall with pictures of hostages taken by Hamas from Israeli soil

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Friday that it had released two American hostages - a mother and her daughter - for what it said were "humanitarian reasons", following Qatar's mediation efforts, REL reports.

The spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas, Abu Ubaida, issued a statement announcing their release.

This is the first time the hostages have been released since the armed attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7.

In the attacks by Hamas, 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed and about 200 hostages were taken.

Israel's Channel 13 news has said that Israel has confirmed the release of the two hostages, but without giving more details, Reuters reports.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and is constantly launching rockets at the region of 2.3 million people, who are under complete siege and without food, medicine or energy sources.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, visited the border point between Gaza and Egypt on Friday, and said that humanitarian aid should be unblocked as soon as possible.

According to health authorities in Gaza, at least 4,137 Palestinians have been killed, including hundreds of children, and more than 13,000 people have been injured.

The UN has said that over 1 million people may be homeless.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday that achieving Israel's goals is neither easy nor quick.

"We will overthrow the Hamas organization. We will destroy his army and government infrastructure. It is a phase that will not be easy. There will be a price", he said before a parliamentary committee.

He said that the main goal is that Israel is not threatened by Gaza.

"It is not a day, nor a week, and unfortunately not even a month", he said, referring to the timelines for when his country's goals will be realized.