Hamas releases two more hostages

JERUSALEM — Hamas released two more hostages Monday, likely bringing relief to families who were desperate for their return but leaving hundreds of people in agony over the fate of the more than 200 people who remain captive.

The two hostages were identified as Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85. In a statement on Telegram, the military wing of Hamas said it had decided to release the two women for “compelling humanitarian” reasons.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had “facilitated” the release of the two captives and transported them out of Gaza on Monday night local time.

Follow live coverage from NBC News here.

Lifshitz’s grandson, Daniel Lifshitz, expressed relief upon news of her release.

“I believed this moment would come,” he said. “I wanted this moment to come.”

Daniel Lifshitz, speaking from Eilat, Israel, said relatives were emotional and happy his grandmother and Cooper were released after they were taken from a western Israel community, Nir Oz kibbutz, near Gaza.

“We’re expecting the rest to be released, all hostages from the kibbutz, and all hostages in general,” he said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that both Cooper’s and Lifshitz’s husbands, Amiram, 85, and Oded, 83, who were kidnapped together with them, remain in Hamas custody, along with other hostages.

“We will continue to work in every way for their return,” a statement from the office said.

Reuters footage showed a helicopter landing on the rooftop of Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv in the early hours of Tuesday, with soldiers carrying the women on stretchers into the medical facility.

The hospital said the hostages were doing OK and were reunited with their families in a “very moving meeting,” according to a spokesperson, in video translated by news agencies.

The announcement of the hostage’s release comes three days after the release of two Americans who had been held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip — Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter, Natalie. They are related to former Israel-based NBC News correspondent Martin Fletcher.

At least 222 people were taken hostage by Hamas after terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel and Hamas have been at war since, and Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza have killed more than 5,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Hamas has said it does not have custody of all the hostages and that some were taken captive by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group based in Gaza.

Israel has demanded the release of everyone who was kidnapped on Oct. 7; Hamas has said it will free its captives only when Israeli airstrikes in Gaza come to a halt.

The hostage crisis has roiled Israel and stunned people around the world. The U.S. is advising Israel to delay a ground invasion to allow for more time for hostage negotiations and humanitarian aid, according to four U.S. officials.

The rapidly deteriorating conditions in Gaza have stoked international concerns about a major humanitarian crisis, with many groups accusing Israel of breaching international law by exercising collective punishment.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organization formed in the wake of the brutal Oct. 7 attack, said in a statement that it “welcomed the safe return” of Cooper and Lifshitz as well as “their upcoming reunification with their loved ones.”

“We are determined to achieve our goal — the release of all hostages,” the group added. “Hundreds are still in the hands of a ruthless terrorist organization, among them babies, mothers, fathers, elderly, and soldiers, who are all awaiting their safe return.”

In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the release of the Raanans but appeared to express skepticism over whether Hamas would actually release more hostages.

“We’re hopeful that more [will be] released,” Blinken said. “But the bottom line is this: They need to be released. Each and every one of them. Now. Unconditionally.”

President Joe Biden echoed those comments in an exchange with a reporter Monday morning. When asked whether he would like to see a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas, the president replied: “We should have those hostages released, then we can talk.”

He spoke with Netanyahu after the release of the hostages, and “reaffirmed his commitment to ongoing efforts to secure the release of all the remaining hostages taken by Hamas — including Americans,” a White House readout of the call said.

Richard Engel reported from Jerusalem and Daniel Arkin from New York.