Israel-Hamas war: Two US hostages released by Hamas

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the two American hostages released by militant group Hamas for "humanitarian reasons" will be met by US Embassy officials in Israel.

Blinken confirmed that there are 10 further Americans missing and that some of them are among those currently being held captive by Hamas militants.

"There are still 10 additional Americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict," he told a White House press conference. "We know that some of them are being held hostage by Hamas, along with an estimated 200 other hostages held in Gaza."

He called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of all hostages.

When asked whether Hamas are following the rules of war in Gaza, Blinken said there will be plenty of time to assess how their operations have been conducted.

US President Joe Biden said he was "overjoyed" after the Islamist militant group Hamas released two American hostages abducted during the surprise attack on Israel.

"Today, we have secured the release of two Americans taken hostage by Hamas during the horrific terrorist assault against Israel on October 7," Biden said in a statement.

"Our fellow citizens have endured a terrible ordeal these past 14 days, and I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear."

Biden thanked Qatar, the Gulf state that hosts a Hamas political office and has previously brokered deals between the group and Israel, and the Israeli government "for their partnership in this work."

He vowed that work would continue to win the release of other Americans being held by Hamas since the attack.

"We will not stop until we get their loved ones home. As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans held hostage around the world," Biden said.

Hamas said that its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, had released two American hostages who had been held by the group after the terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7. The news was initially confirmed by Israel's Channel 13 News and public broadcaster Kan. 

The release of the hostages, Judith and Natalie Raanan, was confirmed via a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

"In response to Qatari efforts, (the Qassam) Brigades released two American citizens (a mother and her daughter) for humanitarian reasons," Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram.

The Islamist group did not provide any additional information as to where the hostages were released.

Israel later confirmed two hostages had been released and were in the country.

The women were on their way to a military base in central Israel, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

Israel's government estimates that roughly 200 people are being held by Hamas in Gaza, of which at least 10 are believed to be American nationals.

Hamas is categorized as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, Germany and a number of other countries.

The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany Josef Schuster, told DW on Friday he is "disappointed" with the reaction of Islamic associations in Germany to the recent surprise attack on Israel by the military group Hamas.

"When I see what we have heard over the last 14 days on the part of the Muslim associations based in Germany about the [Hamas] terrorist attack on October 7, I am extremely disappointed," Schuster said.

However, he expressed satisfaction with the German government's response to the conflict and the decisive handling of increased threats to the country's Jewish community.

Still, Schuster said, the Israel-Hamas war was having an impact on Jews in Germany, where there was an increased sense of insecurity and fear.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have clashed with police in Germany in recent days, at which some participants have cheered Hamas or chanted antisemitic slogans.

In one of the latest, police in Berlin on Wednesday night arrested at least 174 people, during what they described as riots.

German authorities have since banned violent rallies or demonstrations expressing support for the Palestinian cause or criticizing Israel.

Schuster welcomed the clampdown, adding that, "When anti-Semitic slogans are shouted right when Israel's right to exist is questioned, there must be no turning a blind eye, there must be a crackdown."

Israel won't be "restrained" by calls for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza to allow for the delivery of aid, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told DW on Friday.

"We have a very clear goal for this operation. We want to dismantle Hamas, and calls for a cease-fire right now are not serving our Hamas strategy," Heinrich said.

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in besieged Gaza and called on Israel to give unrestricted access to aid.

Heinrich replied that Israel would not prevent aid from reaching Gaza via Egypt as long as it didn't end up being controlled by Hamas.

"We will not allow in humanitarian aid from Israel into Gaza as long as we don't get our hostages back," Heinrich said, "But we will not prevent the access of humanitarian aid from Egypt ... as long as it doesn't end up in the hands of Hamas."

Heinrich was speaking after a US-Egypt deal was agreed to allow vital supplies to flow through the Rafah border crossing, the only one not controlled by Israel, to head off a worsening humanitarian crisis including a lack of food, water, energy and medicine.

US President Joe Biden urgently requested a massive national security package for Israel and Ukrainetotaling $106 billion (€100 billion), which he says will secure US interests for generations.

The figure includes $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, $7 billion for countering China and strengthening allies in the Asia-Pacific region and over $9 billion in humanitarian support for Gaza, Ukraine and Israel.

Although there is general support for Ukraine in Congress, including among key Republicans in the Senate, Biden's demands hit a roadblock, with Republicans unable to elect a leader.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised quick action in the Upper House, where the Democrats hold a majority.

 

Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday offered solidarity with Jewish Germans and pledged broad support from the country after a string of antisemitic incidents and attacks.

The European Union has expressed concern about an uptick in antisemitic incidents since the violent escalation in the Middle East. These have included a firebomb attack on a Berlin synagogue and numerous other incidents across Germany.

As many as 80% of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should take responsibility for the security failures exposed by the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Even among voters who support Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, 69% said he should accept responsibility.

Netanyahu is polling far behind former Defence Minister Benny Gantz, the head of an opposition centrist party who joined a unity government last week. 

Some 48% of respondents thought Gantz would be a better prime minister, compared with only 28% for Netanyahu.

The Israeli army's chief of staff, the head of military intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service have all admitted their services failed.

Some 1,400 Israelis were killed in the attacks on October 7, making it the deadliest day in Israel's 75-year-old history.

Netanyahu's coalition partner, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, also says the government and security leadership failed to protect the country. 

However, Netanyahu himself has yet to make a clear statement of responsibility. The prime minister said this week that there are many questions regarding the attacks and "we will investigate everything thoroughly."

According to the poll, almost two-thirds of Israelis favored the expected ground offensive by Israeli troops into Gaza.

The German frigate "Baden-Württemberg" has set off on its way to a United Nations mission in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Lebanon. 

The warship left its home port of Willhelmshaven with about 120 sailors on board.

The ship will help secure maritime borders and prevent arms smuggling along the Lebanese coast as part of the UN's UNIFIL peacekeeping mission.

Part of the mission's tasks is monitoring the border region between Israel and Lebanon, where there have been repeated violent incidents between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

There have been more clashes since the October 7 attacks on Israel by the Islamist militant group Hamas and Israel's retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip. These, and an expected ground offensive on Gaza, have fueled concerns that Hezbollah militants in Lebanon might be drawn into the conflict.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has said any escalation of military activities would prove disastrous for people in the Gaza Strip.

There are fears that the conflict will escalate further as Israel readies for an imminent ground assault.  

"[I] can tell you with certainty that any further escalation or even continuation of military activities will just be catastrophic for the people of Gaza," the high commissioner, Filippo Grandi, told reporters in Japan on Friday.

Hamas militants entered  Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7 and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry says Israel's bombardments have killed more than 3,700 Palestinians, also mainly civilians.

Grandi called the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7 "appalling" and said that the consequences of the conflict spreading into Lebanon and elsewhere would be "incalculable."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to urge progress on the humanitarian mission to deliver aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.

Cargo planes and trucks have been bringing food, medicine and other aid to the Rafah crossing with Egypt, but to date no aid deliveries have started.

Guterres has called for conditions to be met in order for deliveries to begin entering Gaza.

"We are actively engaging with all the parties, with Egypt, Israel, the United States... in order to have these trucks moving as soon as possible," Guterres told journalists.

Israel cut off the Gaza Strip and began bombardments of Hamas targets after the militant group launched a terror attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which at least 1,400 people were killed, according to Israel's military. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday that 4,137 Palestinians have been killed and over 13,000 wounded.

The UN and humanitarian organizations say food, drinking water, and medical supplies are desperately needed in Gaza. 

Germany's upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, has condemned both Hamas' attacks on Israel as well as antisemitism and has expressed support for Israel.

The Bundesrat represents the 16 federal states of Germany at the federal level.

Germany deems Hamas to be a terrorist organization, as do the European Union, the United States, and several other countries.

In a motion passed unanimously on Friday, the house pledged political and humanitarian support to Israel. It called Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7 an "act of barbarism and terror," adding that "Israel's security is Germany's reason of state."

The Bundesrat also condemned "the cheering on and propagation of Hamas terror on German streets, schoolyards or other spaces and facilities."

"Antisemitism and anti-Israeli sentiment have no place in Germany," the motion read.

The United Nations says it expects the first aid delivery into the besieged Gaza Strip across the Rafah border crossing with Egypt "in the next day or so."

Desperately needed international aid has piled up at the Rafah crossing, the only route into Gaza from Egypt, with Palestinians in dire need of food and water.

The deal to get aid into Gaza remains fragile, with Israel saying it wants to ensure that supplies only go to civilians. 

"We are in deep and advanced negotiations with all relevant sides to ensure that an aid operation in Gaza starts as quickly as possible... a first delivery is due to start in the next day or so," UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said, as cited by his spokesman Jens Laerke in Geneva.

Laerke told reporters: "I do not have an exact time for when these movements will take place, of course, with the hope that they can begin as soon as possible, in a way that is safe, secure, and hopefully sustained.

"We need to have the mechanism in place whereby this can be driven into southern Gaza. That does not take away from our call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited the crossing Friday and said the UN was "actively engaging with all parties" to get aid deliveries moving soon. 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has arrived at Tel Aviv airport for the latest leg of a Middle East tour of four countries.

Having visited Jordan, Baerbock is making her second visit to Israel since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks. She is then set to head on to Lebanon and Egypt, where she will attend a summit in Cairo. 

"We can avert catastrophe," Baerbock said, speaking about the meeting in Egypt and the concern that the conflict might spread to involve the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

Upon her arrival, Baerbock met Israeli opposition politician Benny Gantz, who has taken a post in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unity war cabinet. She also met her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen.

A Greek Orthodox church in the Gaza Strip has been hit overnight by an Israeli air strike, according to the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Hamas officials in Gaza.

The Israeli military said a part of the Saint Porphyrios church was damaged in a strike on a militant command center and it was reviewing the incident. "We are aware of reports of casualties," it said.

The Hamas-run government media office said that 18 Palestinian Christians had been killed and at least 500 Muslims and Christians had taken shelter at the church. The church did not release any final death toll.

"The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its strongest condemnation of the Israeli air strike that has struck its church compound in the city of Gaza," the episcopal body said.

The Associated Press cited the director general of Gaza city's Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Selmia, as saying that dozens were hurt at the church. He said that he could not give a precise death toll

The Jerusalem Patriarchate has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Eastern Orthodox Christians in Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan. There are around 1,000 Christians in the Gaza Strip out of a population of 2.3 million, most of them being Greek Orthodox.