Two more hostages who were kidnapped by Palestinian Islamic terrorists two weeks ago have been released by their captors.
The families of Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, were notified that both women were released by Hamas. Their husbands are still being held hostage.
They have reportedly been handed over to the Red Cross.
Joe Truzman, a research analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) focused on Palestinian armed groups, said that Hamas’ claims that it released the hostages for humanitarian reasons were bogus.
“It’s simply a tactic to create international pressure on Israel to delay a ground incursion into Gaza,” he said.
Hamas says it has released two hostages. The group also says the hostages were released due to humanitarian reasons. While this may sound like a credible excuse, it's not. It's simply a tactic to create international pressure on Israel to delay a ground incursion into Gaza.
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) October 23, 2023
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller suggested that Hamas did not get anything in return for the release of the hostages.
“As far as I’m aware, Hamas is not getting anything in return for the release of these hostages…we have not released any prisoners, the government of Israel has not released any prisoners, I’m not aware of any release of any prisoners,” he said.
What is Hamas getting? @Statedeptspox: "As far as I’m aware, Hamas is not getting anything in return for the release of these hostages…we have not released any prisoners, the government of Israel has not released any prisoners, I'm not aware of any release of any prisoners.”
— Olivia Gazis (@Olivia_Gazis) October 23, 2023
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