(NewsNation) — New details reported by “The New York Times” show Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to the Qatari Prime Minister just hours after Hamas’s attack in Southern Israel, the beginning of a relationship that would help free two American hostages from Gaza.
Last Friday night, an Israeli-American mother and her daughter — Judith and Natalie Raanan — were released from captivity. The “Times” report suggests that Qatar, which houses much of the senior leadership of the political wing of Hamas, played a major role in the rescue.
President Biden spoke to them shortly after their release.
The U.S. government previously said it does not know the exact number or location of American hostages held in Gaza, said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan over the weekend.
But the government can confirm that 30 Americans have been killed in Israel and as many as 20 may be unaccounted for.
Abbey Onn, who is an American who is living in Israel, told “On Balance” host Leland Vittert that she lost contact with her family members on Saturday, the day of the attack.
“We woke up Saturday like everyone else in Israel to sirens, and we thought that it was the regular, you know, run of the mill war. We have family in the center and the north and the south, and so we all started speaking on WhatsApp. We quickly understood that our family … in a kibbutz close to Gaza, had been infiltrated by Hamas,” Onn said.
She believes five of her family members are among the hostages.
Ben Raanan of Denver spoke with NewsNation affiliate KDVR about his 17-year-old sister and step-mother who have been taken hostage.
He said they’ve received “no proof of life” from Hamas.
President Joe Biden spoke with family members of Americans who are unaccounted for during a Zoom call on Friday.
“They’re going through agony, not knowing what the status of their sons and daughters, husbands wives, children,” Biden said at an event in Philadelphia held the same day.
Israeli officials say they believe there are as many as 199 hostages in Gaza.