Hamas militants on Friday freed two Americans — a mother and her teenage daughter who had been held hostage in Gaza since militants rampaged through Israel two weeks ago, the Israeli government said. The pair, who also hold Israeli citizenship, were the first hostages to be released, and more than 200 are still being held.
Hamas said it was releasing them in an agreement with the Qatari government for humanitarian reasons.
Relatives of other captives welcomed the release and appealed for others to be freed.