The first American Hamas hostage mother and daughter to be freed after the Oct. 7 attack relied on Louis Armstrong’s moving song “It’s a Wonderful World” to endure their final weeks of harrowing captivity. .
Judith Raanan, 59, and her 18-year-old daughter Natalie were visiting family in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, when a rocket hit their home.
Raanan had only minutes to warn her teenage daughter of what was about to happen when she realized an attack by Hamas was underway, she told NewsNation on Wednesday. “Elizabeth Vargas reports.”
“Well, I simply said, honey, remember those guys you see in the movies that have all the stuff that comes with military cannons and guns and stuff? That’s what comes through the door. ” said Raanan.
“So don’t panic. Just know, don’t be afraid.”
The mother and daughter were taken out of their home at gunpoint, zip-tied and marked through the desert to the Gaza border, before arriving at a Hamas-run hospital.
Raanan and Natalie, who have dual American and Israeli citizenship, were among about 200 hostages abducted in the October 7 massacre, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed.
“It’s like Russian roulette. You don’t know if you’re going to die or live,” Raanan said.
They spent two weeks in Hamas custody in fear of being raped, killed, or perhaps both, a terrifying thought that Natalie repeatedly expressed.
Despite the seemingly hopeless situation, Raanan knew she had to be strong for her young daughter and cited Armstrong’s iconic jazz songs as a source of inspiration.
“And she said, ‘Mom, I don’t think this is appropriate.’ It’s not such a great situation right now,” Raanan said.
“And I said this is appropriate. You are my Jewish queen. You are a very attractive woman to me.”
The two were released on October 20 following Hamas’s agreement with the Qatari government, the first of several waves of hostage releases.
An estimated 100 others are believed to remain in Hamas custody.
