EVANSTON, Illinois — The father of freed American teen hostage Natalie Raanan says she’s doing well after her release by Hamas.
Uri Raanan of Illinois tells The Associated Press that he spoke to his daughter by telephone. “She’s doing good. She’s doing very good,” says Uri Raanan, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. “I’m in tears, and I feel very, very good.”
The 71-year-old says he saw on the news that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas, and he spent the day hoping they meant his daughter and her mother, Judith.
Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at home with family and friends feels “wonderful. The best news,” Uri Raanan says.
He says he believes Natalie and Judith to be in transit to Tel Aviv to reunite with relatives, and that both will be back in the US early next week.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 20, 2023
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
