We begin with breaking news out of Israel. We’re learning new details about the two American hostages who are free tonight after being held captive by Hamas for nearly two weeks in Gaza. This is the first photo of a mother and her teenage daughter taking just moments after they cross the border into Israel and into safety. N.R and her mother J, who are from Chicago area, were in Israel to celebrate a family member’s eighty fifth birthday. The seventeen-year-old’s father tonight telling CBSN his daughter is doing ok. This picture just released shows President B speaking on the phone with them saying they have the full support of the US government as they recover from the unimaginable. There are still about two hundred hostages from forty countries being held in Gaza. And tonight, the border crossing with Egypt remains closed despite an agreement to allow much needed humanitarian aid into the region. The Secretary of State saying he expects “see that moving soon”.

An Israeli spokesman said tonight the two women are safely in the hands of Israeli troops. Personnel from the Red Cross helped escort them from Gaza into Israel. Relatives of their captives here welcomed the release, appealing for more hostages to be freed. J.R and her seventeen-year-old daughter N had come to Israel to celebrate the eighty-fifth birthday of J’s mother. Israeli officials say they were kidnapped by Hamas gunmen from the Nahal Oz kibbutz not more than a few hundred yards away from Gaza during the militant group’s murderous rampage October 7th. The breakthrough came tonight when Hamas announced it was releasing the two Americans on humanitarian grounds following negotiations through Qatari mediators. Later confirmed by the Israeli Defense Forces spokesman saying, they are within the territory of Israel and in the arms of the army. US officials say the small number of Americans scattered and hidden away amid catastrophic destruction and violent chaos in Gaza. Today, a symbolic ceremony was held by family members in Tel-Aviv. Two hundred and three seats at a Chabot dinner their loved ones may never join.