A Chicago mother kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 described the terrifying moment gunmen 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 mom came along NewsNations Elizabeth Vargas on Wednesday night revealed startling details about the two weeks in captivity on television for the first time since her release.
‘It’s like Russian roulette. You don’t know if you should be dead or alive,’ she said, recalling the morning of October 7, 2023, when she and her daughter heard gunfire from Nahal Oz, one of several kibbutzim near the Gaza border.
Judith and her daughter Natalie, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship, were in Israel last October to celebrate Judith’s mother’s birthday and the start of the Jewish holiday.
Chicago mother Judith Raanan, 59, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 along with her 18-year-old daughter, described the terrifying moment gunmen burst into her home while she and her daughter were still in their pyjamas
The Chicago-based mother joined NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Wednesday night and revealed surprising details about the two weeks in captivity on television 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 were kidnapped.
That Sunday morning, the couple received a phone call warning them not to go outside, then began hearing gunshots from afar.
“I started walking towards my daughter’s room and that was also the moment when a rocket hit the bedroom where I was,” said Judith.
“And until I heard some Arabic, I understood that I have two minutes to explain to my daughter what is happening,” she added.
Realizing the attack was underway, Judith spent the next few minutes telling her daughter to stay calm and not panic.
“I simply said, ‘Honey, do you remember how you watched the movies? The guys that have all this military artillery and stuff that comes with guns and everything?”
She recalled telling her daughter: ‘So this is what comes through the door. So don’t panic. Just so you know, don’t be afraid.’
When armed attackers burst into their home and held the couple at gunpoint, Judith and Natalie were still in their pyjamas.
‘My girl was scared. She said, “Mom, I’m afraid of being raped.” I said no one would hurt you,” Judith said.
The mother recalled that the attackers threatened to kill everyone if she did not convince the people hiding in the safe rooms to leave.
“He tells me, ‘You tell them to get out, you tell them to get out or I’m going to bomb the whole building,'” Judith said.
After spending two weeks in captivity in Gaza, Judith (right) and Natalie (left) were handed over to Red Cross officials at the end of October.
A handout photo made available on October 21 by the US Embassy in Jerusalem on their official X account shows US citizens Judith Raanan (R) and daughter Natalie Raanan (L) talking on the phone with US President Joe Biden (not pictured) following their release after being abducted by Hamas in Israel early on October 21, 2023
While the Hamas terrorists ransacked their room, Judith didn’t forget to bring some colorful pencils and sing songs to keep Natalie calm.
She recalled singing ‘What a wonderful world’ by Louis Armstrong to her daughter when they were captured.
And she says, “Mom, I don’t think this is appropriate. It’s not so wonderful right now.” And I said ‘this is appropriate. You are Jewish queen, you are my princess,” said Judith.
The Hamas attackers marched the hostages, bound and at gunpoint, through the desert to the Gaza border.
Judith’s hand was badly cut when one of the Hamas men removed her shackles with a sharp knife, leaving her with a scar that she still has today.
‘That’s when I said to God, “Do you want me to die like this?” I knew if the blood kept coming, I’m just 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 came in, all the nurses were standing there going like this (cheering). They were all so happy that they came back with loot, with Israeli-Jewish loot.’
After spending two weeks in captivity in Gaza, 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 ransacked their room, Judith (left) didn’t 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 by Hamas
A photo provided by the Raanan family shows Natalie and her father, Uri Raanan, in Mexico
‘I thought of my mother. Is she okay? Is she dead? Is she alive? You had no way of knowing, she said.
‘We have hostages who are going through mental, physical, emotional difficulties and need to be released.’
About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed during the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on October 7, and about 250 people were abducted. Hamas is believed to still be holding around 100 hostages.
Palestinian authorities claim that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forced from their homes by the war.
The Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its death toll, says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, according to the UN.