A Chicago mother kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 described the terrifying moment armed assailants burst into her home while she and her 18-year-old daughter were still in their pajamas.
Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan, then 17, were the first hostages released by Hamas after the October 7 massacre in Israel, in which 1,200 victims were killed and more than 200 people were kidnapped.
The Chicago-based mother joined from NewsNation Elizabeth Vargas revealed surprising details about her two weeks of captivity on TV for the first time since her release on Wednesday evening.
‘It’s like Russian Roulette. You don’t know whether you will be dead or alive,” she said, recalling the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, when she and her daughter heard gunshots from Nahal Oz, one of several kibbutzim near the Gaza border.
Judith and her daughter Natalie, who have dual American-Israeli citizenship, were in Israel last October to celebrate Judith’s mother’s birthday and the start of the Jewish holidays.
Mother Judith Raanan, 59, from Chicago, who was kidnapped by Hamas along with her 18-year-old daughter on October 7, described the terrifying moment armed assailants burst into her home while she and her girl were still in their pajamas
The Chicago-based mother joined NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas on Wednesday evening to reveal surprising details about the two weeks of captivity on TV for the first time since her release
Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan (pictured), then 17, were the first hostages released by Hamas after the October 7 massacre in Israel, in which 1,200 victims were killed and more than 200 people kidnapped.
That Sunday morning, the couple received a phone call warning them not to go outside, and then they started hearing gunshots from a distance.
“I started walking towards my daughter’s room, and that’s when a rocket hit the bedroom I was in,” Judith said.
“And until I heard some Arabic, I understood that I have two minutes to explain to my daughter what is going to happen,” she added.
Judith realized the attack was underway and spent the next few minutes telling her daughter to stay calm and not panic.
“I just said, ‘Honey, do you remember watching the movies?’ Those guys that have all that military artillery and stuff, guns and stuff?”
She remembered saying to her daughter, “So that’s what’s coming through the door. So don’t panic. You know, don’t be afraid.’
When armed attackers broke into their home and held the couple at gunpoint, Judith and Natalie were still in their pajamas.
‘My girl was scared. She said, “Mom, I’m afraid of being raped.” I said no one will hurt you,” Judith said.
The mother recalled that the attackers threatened to kill everyone if she could not convince those hiding in the safe rooms to leave.
“He says to me, ‘Tell them to leave, tell them to leave, otherwise I’m going to bomb the whole building,'” Judith said.
After two weeks of captivity in Gaza, Judith (right) and Natalie (left) were handed over to Red Cross officials at the end of October.
In a handout photo made available by the US Embassy in Jerusalem on their official X account on October 21, US citizens Judith Raanan (R) and daughter Natalie Raanan (L) are seen on the phone with US President Joe Biden ( not pictured) after their release after being kidnapped by Hamas in Israel, early October 21, 2023
While the Hamas terrorists invaded their room, Judith didn’t forget to bring some colorful pencils and sing songs to keep Natalie calm.
She remembered singing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” to her daughter when they were captured.
“And she says, ‘Mom, I don’t think this is appropriate. This isn’t great right now.’ And I said, ‘This is appropriate. You are the Jewish Queen, you are my princess,” Judith said.
The Hamas attackers marched the hostages, tied up and at gunpoint, through the desert to the Gaza border.
Judith’s hand was seriously injured when one of the Hamas men removed her shackles with a sharp knife, leaving a scar that she still has today.
“Then I said to God, ‘Do you want me to die like this?’ I knew if the blood kept flowing, I would just be dead,” she said, adding that her pajamas and a piece of tape eventually helped stop the bleeding.
When they arrived at a hospital in Gaza, the hostages were greeted as heroes, the 59-year-old mother recalled.
“The moment we walked in, all the nurses were standing there and going like that (cheering). They were all so happy that they came back with prey, with Israeli Jewish prey.”
After two weeks of captivity in Gaza, the mother and daughter were handed over to Red Cross officials at the end of October.
But for Judith there is no reason to celebrate the release as she continues to worry about her family and every hostage held captive by Hamas.
While the Hamas terrorists invaded their room, Judith (left) did not forget to bring some colorful pencils and sing songs to keep Natalie (right) calm
For Judith (pictured with her artwork) there is no reason to celebrate the release as she continues to worry about her family and every hostage held captive by Hamas.
A photo of the Raanan family shows Natalie and her father, Uri Raanan, in Mexico
‘I thought about my mother. Is she okay? Is she dead? Is she alive? You couldn’t have known,” she said.
“We have hostages who are experiencing mental, physical and emotional hardship and need to be released.”
About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed during the Hamas-led raid on southern Israel on October 7, and about 250 people were kidnapped. Hamas is believed to still be holding around 100 hostages.
Palestinian authorities claim that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been driven from their homes by the war.
The Hamas-led Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its death toll, says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
According to the United Nations, a quarter of Gaza’s population is hungry.