Hamas announced that it had freed an additional two hostages on humanitarian grounds. Israeli media, citing an anonymous official, confirmed the release, but there was no formal announcement from the Israeli side. Abu Ubaida, spokesman for armed wing, said on Telegram it had secured the release of the detainees “despite the enemy’s refusal to accept them since last Friday and their neglect of the issue of our prisoners”.
The Associated Press has the story:
Hamas released 2 female captives; source says they are elderly Israelis
Newslooks- GAZA/JERUSALEM, (AP)
The armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas militant group said on Monday it had released two female civilian captives in response to Egyptian-Qatari mediation efforts, and a source said that they were elderly Israelis.
Abu Ubaida, spokesman for armed wing, said on Telegram it had secured the release of the detainees “despite the enemy’s refusal to accept them since last Friday and their neglect of the issue of our prisoners”.
“We decided to release them for humanitarian and poor health grounds … Despite that, the enemy refused to receive them last Friday,” the statement added.
The armed wing released two Americans on Friday, nearly two weeks after Hamas gunmen abducted them and dozens of others near Gaza in an Oct. 7 cross-border assault, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages.
A Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday said that the release of U.S. hostages from Gaza came “after many days on continuous communication” with all parties.
