Hamas has released two US hostages who were abducted during the Palestinian militant group’s deadly raid on Israel this month.

Israel confirmed they had received mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan from Hamas at the Gaza border.

The pair were freed for “humanitarian reasons”, the military arm of Hamas said on Telegram.

The Israeli government has said that more than 200 people are being held hostage in Gaza.

Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing more than 1,400 people. Since the raid, Palestinian officials say more than 4,000 people have died in Israeli air and artillery strikes on Gaza.

Brig Gen Gal Hirsch, together with members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), received the two hostages from Hamas at the border of the Palestinian enclave on Friday evening, said the Israeli prime minister’s office.

The Raanans were taken to a military base in the centre of the country, where family members were waiting, said the PM’s office.

The mother and daughter were staying at Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel when they were abducted during the Hamas incursion.

The BBC previously reported that family and friends feared the Chicago mother, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 19, had been taken hostage by Hamas while visiting relatives at the kibbutz.

Natalie Ranaan’s uncle told CBS News that shortly before being captured, his niece had texted the family: “We’re all fine, yes indeed. Mommy’s room that she was sleeping in got bombed, but we are now transferring to another guest house where there is a shelter.”

Her father, Uri Raanan, had said a neighbour saw Hamas militants escort the pair out of the house.

In a written statement on Friday, President Joe Biden said he was “overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family”.

He also thanked the Qatari government for its mediation efforts in the release.

US officials were “working around-the-clock to free American citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas”, said the US president.

A Hamas spokesman, Abu Ubaida, said the mother and daughter were released “for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless”.

As of Thursday, at least 32 American citizens had died in the conflict, while 11 remained unaccounted for, according to the US state department.

The US and UK have each said they are working with Qatari officials to help secure the release of their citizens.

Other countries with citizens being held in Gaza include Argentina, Germany, France, Thailand and Portugal.