Egypt’s state television Al-Qahera News has reported that two hostages with Russian citizenship released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip have arrived in the country via the Rafah crossing, AFP reports.

The two women — identified by the office of Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu as Yelena Trupanov, 50, and 73-year-old Irena Tati — were handed over earlier by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross “after the efforts of the Russian president”, the group had said.