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The office of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said it "will not respond" after terrorist group Hamas claimed to have offered to release two Qatari hostages, The Times of Israel reported.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said the terror group informed Qatar on Saturday that they would release two hostages held in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported. However, Israel refused to accept them, the daily quoted Hamas as claiming. According to the report, the spokesperson even named the hostages saying they were to be released for "humanitarian reasons", The Times of Israel reported. "We won't respond to Hamas's propaganda lies. We will continue to do everything possible to return all the hostages and those missing home," PM Netanyahu's office responded, according to the report. It added that Israeli officials have accused Hamas of "psychological terror" through various statements and footage of over 200 hostages in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, on Friday, the Hamas released two Americans, a mother-daughter duo identified as Judith and Natalie Raanan. The mother and daughter were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during Hamas's October 7 invasion of southern Israel, which has, so far, killed over 1,400 people, scores more injured and over 200 others being taken hostage. The two live in Chicago and were visiting Israel to celebrate a relative's birthday, according to a report. On Friday afternoon, US President Joe Biden released a statement, taking credit for the pair's release and thanking "the government of Qatar and the government of Israel for their partnership in this work". "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 said. "These individuals and their families will have the full support of the United States government as they recover and heal, and we should all respect their privacy in this moment," the US President added. Following the release of two Americans from the captivity of Hamas, Biden on Saturday assured that the US government would fully support them in their recovery from the experience. During a press briefing on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked the Qatari government for the assistance that resulted in their release. "I wanna thank the government of Qatar for their very important assistance. When I was in Israel last week, I met with the families of US citizens that Hamas has taken hostage," Blinken said. (ANI)
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