Released American Hostage’s Father Says, “There Is a Long Road Ahead to Healing”

EVANSTON, ILL.— The father of American Natalie Raanan, who was kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas for two weeks along with her mother, hopes she’s home for her birthday. The teenager from Evanston, Ill., turns 18 on Tuesday, her father, Uri Raanan, said on Saturday. Natalie and her mother, Judith Raanan, 59 years old, who both have U.S. citizenship, were visiting family in Israel at the time of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.