Hamas released two additional hostages on Monday, identified by Israeli officials as Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz. This occurred just days after the release of two American women on the previous Friday.

Cooper and Lifshitz were kidnapped from their residences in Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community located near the Gaza border, which came under attack on October 7. Cooper, who is 80 years old, was taken with her 85-year-old husband, Amiram Cooper, according to their daughter-in-law Noa, as reported by the BBC.

Lifshitz, who is 85, was also abducted along with her 83-year-old husband, Oded Lifshitz, according to the Times of Israel.

This source reported that the couple were peace activists who regularly transported patients from Gaza to hospitals across Israel for medical treatments.

Notably, the husbands of these women were not among those released, CBS News reported.

According to a message posted on a Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel, the release of these two hostages on Monday was due to humanitarian reasons following mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also played a role in facilitating the release, as confirmed on social media by the ICRC.

They stated, “Our role as a neutral intermediary makes this work possible, and we are ready to facilitate any future release. We hope that they will soon be reunited with their loved ones.”

Israel has reported that a total of 222 hostages were taken during Hamas’ deadly incursion on October 7. The Israel Defense Forces disclosed that more than 20 of these hostages taken to Gaza were under the age of 18, and between 10 and 20 of the hostages were over the age of 80.

The first two hostages released on the preceding Friday were Judith and Natalie Raanan, dual U.S.-Israeli citizens who reside in Evanston, Illinois, and were visiting relatives in Israel.

The Raanans were retrieved from Gaza by the International Committee of the Red Cross and subsequently reunited with their family in Israel.

During his visit to Tel Aviv last week, President Biden emphasized that there was “no higher priority” for him than securing the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

Written by staff