Father, ex-husband of released American hostages says he prays all ‘come back home’

International News | The Hill

Uri Raanan of Illinois, the father and ex-husband of the American hostages released Friday, said they are doing very well and that he prays for more hostages to be released.

In a message to the other families of the hostages, Uri Raanan said, “I say pray. And hopefully for good news. I pray for all the hostages to come back home.”

“This is the best day of my life,” Uri Raanan said in an interview with guest host Brian Entin that aired on “Cuomo” on NewsNation on Friday night. NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

President Biden said Friday that the U.S. has secured the release of two Americans taken hostage by Hamas in its attack against Israel on Oct. 7. The Israeli government confirmed them as Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie Raanan.

Uri Raanan said he spoke with his daughter Natalie after her release and she is doing well.

“She sounds like herself. And she did not talk about how they treat her but she looked like, she looked very good,” he said.

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Natalie and Judith are expected to return home next week, he said. Uri Raanan said he hopes she will be home before her upcoming 18th birthday.

He said Natalie did not provide much information about the conditions in which they were kept and any information about the other hostages.

He said the Israel Defense Forces called him and told him the news that his family members were the hostages being released. He said he spoke with Biden on the phone, who was also very happy about the release.

Hamas is believed to be holding 200 people hostage after it entered Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7. Hamas has said it seeks to use hostages as bargaining chips to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and has said that it is treating the hostages as “esteemed guests.”

Since fighting began, Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 12,500 others have been wounded. More than 1,400 people in Israel were killed in the initial surprise attack.

This story was updated at 12:12 p.m.