Families hold out hope for loved ones abducted from Israel after a mother and daughter are released

By The Associated Press

Families of the more than 200 people whom the Israeli military says were taken hostage by Hamas militants in southern Israel on Oct. 7 are holding out hope after the news that two hostages have been released.  Judith and Natalie Raanan, an American woman and her teenage daughter, were released Friday and are being reunited with family. It was the first such hostage release. Family and friends of other hostages are left wondering what might come next. Nearly two weeks after their loved ones were abducted, they’re struggling with thoughts of what their loved ones might be enduring and how to explain to young children what happened to their parents.