judith tai and natalie shoshana raanan were handed over to the red cross in the gaza strip and are nowel. it follows mediation efforts by the gulf state of qatar, with hamas, designated as a terror organisation by many western governments including the uk, saying they were freed for humanitarian reasons.

hostages, the mother and daughter, judith tai and natalie shoshana raanan were held for two weeks. the women were abducted along with about 200 others when hamas attacked israel october 7. >> our position is clear. every hostage needs to be released and needs to be released now. in israel, families hostages gathered friday at a massive shabbat table set with 203 empty seats. >> i hope they will hear us and feel us as we feel them every day. we believe in them that they are strong and they can make it. >> reporter: in gaza city, residents are mourning victims of an israeli airstrike that damaged art of a church where christians and muslims were taking refuge. palestinian health officials say more than a dozen were killed. israel's military says it was targeting a militant command center. >> nobody is safe in gaza regardless of religion, regardless of your involvement in anything. >> reporter: civilians are struggling. israel has cut off food, fuel, water and medicine. the you in a secretary-general visited the crossing from egypt into gaza friday morning, pleading for humanitarian a

judith tai and natalie shoshana raanan were held nearly two weeks. the president just spoke with them on the phone. today we heard from their rabbi back at their home near chicago. >> the phone didn't stop ringing every second and all the community wanted to know if this is true, people reaching out from all over the world. so clearly people are very touched by this. >> in gaza city people are mourning the victims of an israeli airstrike that damaged part of a church where christians and muslims were taking refuge. israel's military says it was targeting a militant command center and a former u.s. congressman justin homage posted on x some of his family members were killed. more than 1,400 palestinians have been killed in gaza. israel said 1,400 of its citizens have died so far. >>> president biden wants to send more than $14 billion to help israel. the white house says it would be geared toward air and missile defense systems. he wants more than $9 billion for humanitarian aid to be directed where it's most needed in that region. that money would ne

judith tai and her daughter natalie shoshana raanan were handed over to the red cross, who said they of the us hostages from gaza to israel. it's understood both mother and daughter have now been reunited with their families in israel. they were kidnapped by hamas from the nahal oz kibbutz during an attack on october 7. they'd travelled from illinois to visit family in israel. hamas say the pair were freed for "humanitarian reasons".

a relative of judith tai raanan and natalie raanan who are believed to be held by hamas but alive, accordingeli government, tells cbs news the zoom meeting "was positive, reassuring, and that the president shared our pain." mr. biden, interviewed by scott pelley for sunday's "60 minutes" discussed his attempts to get them out. >> to those holding american hostages in gaza, you say what? >> i say we're going to do everything in our power to find them, everything in our power. and i'm not going to go into the detail of that, but we are working like hell on it. >> reporter: there is military personnel at the u.s. embassy in jerusalem working directly with the israelis to locate the american citizens. they include 23-year-old hersh goldberg polin who was at the music festival attack on saturday and last seen near the gaza border. plus 19-year-old itay chen and 21-year-old omer neutra whose families are from the new york area and who are members of the israeli military. their relatives believe they have been taken hostage. why do you feel so strongly about speaking to these families personally on

a relative of judith tai and natalie raanan are believed to be held by hamas but alive.bs news the zoo meeting was positive, reassuring and that the president share in our pain. mr. biden, interviewed by scott pelley for sunday's "60 minutes" discussed his attempts to get them out. >> to those holding american hostages in gaza, you say what? >> i say we're going to do everything in our power to find them, everything in our power. and i'm not going to go into the detail that but we are working like on it. >> reporter: military personnel working directly with the israelis. they include 23-year-old hersh goldberg polin who was at the music festival attack on saturday and last seen near the gaza borders. classic itay chen. their relatives believe they been taken hostage. why do you feel so strongly about speaking to these families personally on zoom? >> because i think they have to know that the president of the united states of america cares deeply about what's happened, deeply. we have to communicate to the world this is critical. this is not even human behavior. it's pure

judith tai raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, natali shoshanna raanan are american israelis. natali just graduated high school. they live outside chicago. they were taken hostage while visiting families at the kibbutz near the gaza strip. >> i can't speak to their condition, first out of respect for their privacy, second, because we haven't had a chance yet -- maybe it's happening as we speak -- to get our own team in there to see them, to evaluate them, and, most importantly, to reunite them with their loved ones. >> reporter: the release was first announced by the hamas military spokesman, who said the group freed the mother and daughter for humanitarian reasons, and to disprove what he called false and baseless claims about the group by president biden. earlier today there were signs that negotiations were making progress when israel confirmed that of the more than 200 hostages, the majority are still alive and in gaza. israel said 20 are under 18, and between 10 and 20 are over 60. it's a strong indication israel has received proof of life and that information is flowing.

judith tai and her daughter natalie shoshana raanan were handed over to the red cross, who said they were "extremely relieved" after they helped facilitate the transfer of the us hostages from gaza to israel. it's understood both mother and daughter have now been reunited with their families in israel. they were kidnapped by hamas from the nahal oz kibbutz during an attack on october 7. they'd travelled from illinois to visit family in israel. hamas say the pair were freed for "humanitarian reasons". us presidentjoe biden spoke with the two women after their release on friday, telling them that their government "will fully support them as they recover and heal." and secretary of state antony blinken said he's relieved the women have been released, but reminded reporters that many others are still being held. there's still ten additional americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict. we know that some of them are being held hostage by hamas, along with an estimated 200 other hostages held in gaza. they include men, women, young boys, young girls, elderly people from many natio

the two american hostages release ed on friday from hamas, were judith tai raanan and her daughter natalie, turned over to israeli forces in gaza. she is coming home to celebrate her 18th birthday on tuesday. the white house posted a video of that emotional call on social media. >> hey judith. >> hello, president biden. >> i'm so glad you're home. not home, i'm glad you're out. >> thank you so very, very much. >> nat how are you? god love you. that's been long said, i'm just dlieded we could get you out. we were working on you a long time, we're going to get them all out god willing. i just want to say -- >> god willing -- >> i hope we're not not only feeling but in good health as well. >> yes, sir, yes we are. thank you very much, god bless you. >> god bless you guys. >> well, the release of the american mother and her daughter taken hostage by hamas is a birth sweet development of the families of more than 200 others abducted by a terror group. a shabbat place setting was laid with 200 place settings, each one of them representing a hostage. taken from the many nova music effectively, sp

judith tai and natalie shoshana raanan were handed over to the red cross in the gaza strip and are noweunited with theirfamilies in israel. it follows mediation efforts by the gulf state of qatar, with hamas, designated as a terror organisation by many western governments including the uk, saying they were freed for humanitarian reasons. around 200 hostages are still being held in gaza, and israel's airstrikes and total siege of the territory, cutting off food, water and medicines, will not end until all of them are freed. desperately needed humanitarian aid has still not reached the besieged people of gaza. emergency aid trucks stocked with supplies sit on the border with egypt waiting to be let across the rafah crossing as part of a deal to allow in limited aid. let's bring you more now on the fate of those two american hostages freed by hamas. us presidentjoe biden spoke with the two women, telling them that their government will fully support them as they recover and heal. our correspondent barbara plett usher brings us more from inside the halls of the state department. the releas

americans, judith tai raanan and natalie shoshanna rode on from edmonton, illinois, were united with family in israel. u.s. officials are getting ten additional americans who are remaining unaccounted for back home this morning. joining me now is nbc senior national correspondent live from tel aviv, israel. jay, good morning. what is the latest update on the rafah crossing temporarily opening, not only for foreigners to get out but for humanitarian aid to come in? >> yeah, and to this point we have not seen any of the foreign nationals make the trip back into egypt. we have seen, as you talked, about the 20 trucks move through. it was a very brief opening. open long enough for the 20 trucks to get in and now they begin the distribution of the food, water and medical supplies that have been so needed there for the last two weeks. we know there are more than 2 million people in gaza caught in the cross fire here. and they've all desperately been needing some type of delivery to give you an idea of what they normally see in the region, 400 trucks a day deliver goods into gaza. this is 2

. >> two american hostages, mother and daughter, judith tai raanan, and -- they are from -- after being released by hamas. israel pressing ahead with preparations for a ground offensive, even though it's military now says 210 hostages are still being held in gaza. it is part of a report from our sky news colleague, deborah haynes. >> there's sudden release, raising hope, them remaining hostages may also soon be freed. even as israel prepares for anticipated ground invasion of gaza. the israeli -- three stage plan to eradicate how moss. >> they'll be three main stages. first they will destroy the hamas organization, eliminate the -- that's the first thing. >> those released hostages are related to former nbc correspondent martin fletcher, i want to be speaking with martin in just a moment. meanwhile at home, new developments on an appointment of a new speaker of the house, jim jordan is out. and this is how long the house has now been without a speaker. we're going to have the latest from capitol hill, and then on the legal front, in the perils facing donald trump, this happened. >> plea