The harrowing tales of those captured by Hamas continue to emerge, but the story of the Ra'anan family is particularly heartbreaking. Judith, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 18, had recently moved to Israel from Chicago, hoping to settle down permanently. While searching for a home, they temporarily stayed in a guest apartment at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, close to their relatives. But then, Hamas terrorists struck.
Terrorists approaching Kibbutz Nahal Oz
"Two days before the attack, we celebrated Judith's birthday," says Sherry Cohen, Judith's sister. "We have one last family photo from this event. On Saturday, we woke up to war. I immediately called them and made sure they knew they had to enter the bomb shelter. They explained to me that they were told not to talk on the phone, only on WhatsApp, so we texted. We were in touch throughout the morning. They said that they heard a lot of gunfire, but that they are fine."
At 12:18pm, Sherry received the last message from Judith and Natalie. "They wrote that they heard gunshots outside the apartment. That they are in the shelter and are fine and they love us very much. This is the last we heard from them," she says.
"We know that they were taken by the terrorists from their apartment to another family's apartment in the kibbutz, where a Hamas squad rounded up another family and kidnapped them all. We can say with certainty that they arrived at the apartment safe and sound, and from there they were taken into a car. This is the last evidence we have that they are alive. We know there is a chance they can be saved."
From the moment they were abducted, the family had to independently investigate the circumstances and ascertain the condition of Judith and Natalie. "We feel alone," Cohen says, "the feeling is that if we don't do anything, nothing will be done. We went through the Hamas videos to try to identify them but we didn't find anything. We go by ourselves and ask the Nahal Oz evacuees if they saw them. We are trying to find out every detail independently. It is strange that no one came to interview the Nahal Oz evacuees to find out more details. We are looking for every angle to find some sign of life. We're shocked at how nothing is functioning."
The extended family is scattered around several Gaza border towns, and apart from Judith and Natalie, ten other family members from Kibbutz Be'eri were also kidnapped during the October 7 attack.
"They confirmed to us that they were kidnapped," Cohen explains, "but we feel in the dark. Even when they announced that they were kidnapped, they did not share with us any additional information about their condition. We are calling for negotiations to return those who were kidnapped so that they will not be forgotten there in a tunnel in Gaza."