This handout picture courtesy of the government of Israel taken on Oct 20, 2023 shows Natalie Raanan (2nd left) and Judith Raanan (2nd right) after being held hostage and later released by Hamas at an undisclosed location. (PHOTO / GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL VIA AFP)
GAZA/JERUSALEM/BEIRUT/ISTANBUL/RAFAH/CAIRO/TEHRAN - Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said Friday in a statement that it has released two American hostages for "humanitarian reasons," in response to Qatari efforts.
The brigades said it made the move to prove that the US allegations were "false and baseless." This is the first time that the Gaza-ruling group released hostages since the conflict began almost two weeks ago.
Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the two released were "received on the border with Gaza and are on the way to a military base where they will meet their families"
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed the release of the two hostages in a statement.
"This evening two hostages were released from the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization," the office said in a statement, identifying the two released as Judith Raanan and Natalie Raanan.
READ MORE: 'Israeli airstrikes kill 9 hostages' amid rush to flee Gaza
The statement added that the two released were "received on the border with Gaza and are on the way to a military base where they will meet their families."
Israeli media Channel 2 reported earlier that the two are a mother and daughter who are US citizens. It is unclear whether they are also Israeli citizens.
In a press release, US President Joe Biden also confirmed his administration secured the release of two American hostages and thanked Qatar and Israel for their partnership in this work.
ALSO READ: Hamas: 13 hostages killed by Israeli airstrikes
Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct 7, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory, where it seized a large number of hostages. The brigades previously stated they were holding 200 to 250 captives in Gaza. An Israeli army statement earlier in the day said a majority of the hostages were alive.
Smoke rises from inside an Israeli army position which was hit by Hezbollah fighters as seen from Tair Harfa village, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, Oct 20, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
Border clash continues
The confrontation between Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Israeli army continued on the Lebanon-Israel border as an unidentified gunman was killed on Friday.
The Lebanese prime minister called for stepping up international efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, noting that the cabinet is exerting efforts to restore calm in southern Lebanon, where armed clashes between the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah and Israel have intensified following the conflict in Gaza
Lebanese military sources told Xinhua that an Israeli drone fired a missile at an armed man in Wadi Hounin, adjacent to the southern town of Houla.
The sources added that the Israeli army fired several phosphorus bombs at him before targeting him with a missile launched from a drone.
READ MORE: PM: New war front in Lebanon in 'no one's interest'
Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced that its fighters used guided missiles to target several Israeli sites along the border.
Sources in the Lebanese Internal Security Forces told Xinhua that Israeli bombings destroyed a chicken farm and caused considerable damage to 15 houses in several Lebanese towns near the border.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop its "aggression" against Lebanon.
Mikati made the appeal when meeting with visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, according to a statement by the Lebanese Council of Ministers.
ALSO READ: Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire as Hamas attacks Tel Aviv, Jerusalem
During the meeting, the prime minister also called for stepping up international efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, noting that the cabinet is exerting efforts to restore calm in southern Lebanon, where armed clashes between the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah and Israel have intensified following the conflict in Gaza.
Baerbock, for her part, called on Lebanese authorities to "shield the country from a war."
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrives at the Rafah border crossing, Egypt, Oct 20, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
Aid waiting to enter Gaza
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, ahead of the anticipated opening of the crossing to bring needed aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
At the Rafah crossing, the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Guterres said the large convoy loaded with food and medicine was "the difference between life and death for the (Palestinian) people."
ALSO READ: Protests erupt across Mideast over Gaza hospital blast
"We absolutely need to have these trucks moving as quickly as possible and as many as necessary," the UN chief said, adding there needed to be trucks entering "every day into Gaza to provide enough support for the Gazan people."
Before the press conference, the UN chief inspected the aid convoy waiting to enter Gaza at the Rafah crossing for days.
Some 175 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, medical supplies, food, and blankets were lined up near the crossing, waiting for entry into Gaza but blocked by Israeli bombardments.
READ MORE: Sisi, Biden agree on aid delivery to Gaza via Rafah crossing
Earlier in the day, Jens Laerke, spokesperson of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said relevant parties are nearing an agreement on the modalities of the aid operation and that the first delivery is due to start in the next day or so, according to a UN press release.
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip sit in a UNDP-provided tent camp in Khan Younis on Oct 19, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
Call for peace
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi stressed on Friday the importance of not allowing the exodus of civilians from war-torn Gaza into Egypt's Sinai.
Sisi made the remarks during a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, according to the Egyptian presidency.
Erdogan appealed to all countries and international organizations to "sincerely support the efforts to establish an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza," pledging Türkiye's continuous efforts to deescalate the situation
"This is an extremely dangerous matter and may completely end the Palestinian cause," Sisi warned.
READ MORE: Egypt's Sisi: Israeli operation in Gaza goes beyond self-defense
The Egyptian president called for joint action to contain the developments in the Gaza Strip that may be "uncontrollable" in the region.
"Reviving the peace process should be one of the lessons we need to learn from this crisis, as well as giving hope to the Palestinians to establish their state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," the Egyptian president noted.
For his part, Sunak welcomed efforts made by Egypt to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
He said that Britain was committed to playing its part in helping the civilians of Gaza and alleviating the dire humanitarian situation there.
In Türkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza, warning that further escalation would only bring "more pain, death and tears."
READ MORE: Erdogan, Putin discuss ongoing Israeli-Palestinian tensions
"Expanding attacks on Gaza will bring nothing but more pain, death and tears," Erdogan wrote on X, a social media platform previously known as Twitter.
Erdogan repeated his call for Israel to stop "its attacks against civilians" and end the operation. "It is clear that security cannot be ensured by bombing hospitals, schools, mosques, and churches," he added.
Erdogan also appealed to all countries and international organizations to "sincerely support the efforts to establish an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza," pledging Türkiye's continuous efforts to deescalate the situation.
The relative (center) of a Palestinian who was killed earlier during Israeli bombardment is assisted as she marches during a funeral outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct 20, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
US blamed
While in Iran, a top military official has warned the United States against its extensive support for Israel in the attacks against Gaza, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.
Baqeri said Washington's extensive support for Israel, including supplying heavy arms and ammunition, "is tantamount to the US government's participation in Israel's attacks against the Gazan people and will further complicate the situation in the coastal enclave"
Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri gave the warning in a phone call with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler on Thursday, in which the two sides discussed recent regional developments, particularly the situation in Gaza.
ALSO READ: Israel-Hamas conflict: Iran's president warns of war expansion
Baqeri said Washington's extensive support for Israel, including supplying heavy arms and ammunition, "is tantamount to the US government's participation in Israel's attacks against the Gazan people and will further complicate the situation in the coastal enclave."
He urged to take serious measures to stop Israel's brutal attacks against civilians in Gaza and send humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, to the strip.
READ MORE: US widely slammed for vetoing draft UNSC resolution on Gaza
Baqeri called on the Turkish government to use all its tools to prevent "Israeli crimes" and support the people of Gaza.
Guler, for his part, elaborated on his government's efforts to reduce the tensions in Gaza and stop the ongoing conflict, emphasizing that Türkiye will continue such endeavors.
The ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, as it entered the 14th day, has killed more than 5,000 people on both sides.
