Tel Aviv, 21 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Israel has confirmed the first release of two hostages held by the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

"Tonight [Friday] Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan were released from the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced.

The Israeli officer in charge of the abducted and missing, Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, had received them at the Gaza Strip border.

The two women are now on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the centre of the country, where their family members are waiting for them. According to media reports, the two are US citizens.

Hamas' military wing had earlier said it had released two US citizens, a mother and her daughter, "on humanitarian grounds" in "response to Qatar's efforts."

The al-Qassam Brigades wanted to "prove to the US people and the world that the claims of Biden and his fascist government are false and unfounded," the statement said.