An Evanston mother and daughter taken hostage by terrorist organization Hamas on Oct. 7 became the first hostages released by Hamas a week ago. The pair were released into Red Cross custody and then into Israel on Oct. 20.
Now, Judith and Natalie Raanan have been in Israel for a week, receiving medical care and reuniting with family. The pair are set to fly home to the Chicago area within the next few days, Natalie’s father and Judith’s ex-husband Uri Raanan told reporters last week.
“I’m going to hug her and kiss her and it’s going to be the best day of my life,” Uri Raanan said.
As family and community members alike eagerly await a reunion, here’s what we know so far.
[ Photos: Hamas hostages from Evanston, Natalie and Judith Raanan ]
Judith, 59, was born in Israel, and Natalie and Judith both hold dual citizenship in the United States and Israel. The mother and daughter lived in Israel for nearly a decade shortly after Natalie, now 18, was born near Chicago.
“Judith is a very kind of spiritual person who loves people,” Ben Raanan, Judith’s stepson and Natalie’s brother, said.
Judith now lives in Evanston, where she works as an aesthetician in the beauty and wellness industry, according to her personal website. She has also been a life coach, Ben Raanan said.
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An avid artist, Judith shares a close bond with Ben’s brother, who has autism. For nearly six years after Judith and Uri Raanan divorced, Judith would make biweekly visits to Ben’s brother to do art projects, Ben Raanan has told the Tribune.
Both Judith and Natalie are active members at Chabad of Evanston, where Judith often hosted gatherings and is beloved by other congregants’ children, Rabbi Meir Hecht said.
“She and Natalie are both such kind spirits and such kind souls,” Hecht said. “People that would never harm someone else. To know that they were harmed in such a way, it adds to the pain so much more painfully and so much deeper.”
Deerfield residents know Natalie Raanan as “a little bit shy, but beautiful inside and out,” said Gale Gand, whose daughter Ruby is a close friend of Natalie.
A typical teenage girl in many ways, Ben Raanan said, Natalie loves fashion, technology and her dog, Panda. Along with hours at Chabad of Evanston, she spent much of her time with a close-knit group of six high school friends, Gand said.
When Natalie moved back to the United States, she spoke little English, and Ben spoke little Hebrew. The two bonded over favorite food, movies and mobile games like Pokémon Go.
Natalie graduated from Deerfield High School this spring, and had planned to take a gap year before pursuing higher education. She traveled in Italy before going to the Nahal Oz kibbutz with Judith. The pair planned to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Simhat Torah and visit Judith’s mother Tamar on her 85th birthday.
Natalie planned to spend part of the year in Israel before traveling to Egypt with a friend from high school. After her gap year, she was debating between studying interior decorating or fashion design, or seeking a tattoo apprenticeship, her brother Ben Raanan told the Tribune.
“She’s not a politician or a soldier,” Ben Raanan had said of his sister. “She is an artist.”
Natalie’s father and Judith’s ex-husband, Uri Raanan, lives in Bannockburn, just outside of Deerfield, with wife Paola Raanan and stepdaughter Frida Alonso.
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Natalie turned 18 on Tuesday. When she returns to Chicago, the Raanan family will celebrate in Bannockburn, with additional festivities hosted by Chabad of Evanston.
“We hoped you were alive and safe,” Alonso, 19, said last week, addressing Natalie. “We know you’re so brave, and strong, and that’s how you and your mom made it through this.”
Judith and Natalie Raanan were visiting family at the Nahal Oz kibbutz in southern Israel when Hamas operatives attacked the kibbutz. Natalie’s father received text messages from Natalie on the morning of Oct. 7, saying she and Judith had heard gunfire and explosions and were locking themselves in a guesthouse.
When Israeli Defense Forces soldiers searched the area several hours later, they found broken glass on the floor, Ben Raanan said. A neighbor later confirmed they had seen members of Hamas leading them from the guesthouse at gunpoint in the early hours of Oct. 7.
The mother and daughter were held hostage in Gaza for about two weeks. Natalie told family in Israel that she was not physically harmed by Hamas operatives, a family friend close to the discussion told the Tribune.
Natalie said Hamas operatives took her phone, but provided food, water, fresh clothes and access to a shower. Natalie and Judith may have been held together, Uri Raanan said.
Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, said they released the citizens “for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by (President Joe) Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless,” Reuters reported.
Uri Raanan spoke briefly with Natalie by phone shortly after her release, he told reporters last week.
He said he asked Natalie if she had been hurt, “but she looks good and everything is good.”
Natalie told her father Judith was mostly unharmed, though she had a small wound on her hand, Uri Raanan told reporters last week.
He fielded hundreds of messages from family, friends and the media on Oct. 20 as reports emerged that two American hostages would be released from Gaza.
Not daring to believe, Uri Raanan waited for Israeli Defense Forces soldiers to confirm Natalie and Judith’s safety directly. “I’m waiting for my daughter,” Uri Raanan told the Tribune Oct. 20.
Israeli Defense Forces officers sent Uri pictures of the release early Friday. Later, officers called Raanan to let him know they were on their way to collect his daughter and ex-wife.
Since then, video footage has been released showing the pair crossing the border from the Gaza strip into Israel.
Natalie and Judith were taken to central Israel, where they met with personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and reunited with family.
President Joe Biden spoke with Natalie, Judith and Uri Raanan after the mother and daughter were released. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth were also in touch with the Raanan family on Oct. 20.
A fundraiser organized to support Natalie and Judith’s recovery, now closed, raised more than $10,000 during their ordeal.
Hamas is a terrorist organization currently controlling the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli government said Wednesday that about 220 people remain hostages in Gaza, including 12 Americans, Reuters reported. Nearly 140 of the hostages hold citizenship in more than 25 different countries, including Argentina, Germany, France, Russia and Thailand.
[ As former Hamas hostages prepare to return home, family of kidnapped man share joy, concern ]
Two Israeli women — Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79 — were also released this week, their husbands remaining captives of Hamas. Lifshitz described her experience as a “hell that we never knew before and never thought we would experience,” saying Hamas operatives beat her with sticks before bringing her into Gaza on a motorcycle.
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Lifshitz said she was held in a network of underground tunnels and given medical treatment, access to medication, and one meal a day consisting of cheese, cucumbers and pita bread.
Many families are still hoping to receive proof of the life of their loved ones. Chicago natives Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, who have lived in Jerusalem since 2008, are calling on Illinois politicians to prioritize participating in hostage negotiations. Their 23-year-old son, California-born Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was taken hostage by Hamas Oct. 7 while attending the Tribe of Nova music festival in southern Israel.
Many hostages are critically wounded, including Hersh, who lost his left arm below the elbow during his abduction from a bomb shelter.
“We’re really trying to get as much support as possible from our elected officials in Illinois,” Polin said. “That’s kind of the state that we’ve been leaning on the most.”
More than 1,400 people were killed by surprise Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, including at Nahal Oz and the Lost Tribe music festival.
On Friday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which is run by Hamas, released the names of 6,747 Palestinians who have been killed in retaliatory actions by Israel since. An additional 281 bodies have not been identified, the Ministry said.
The Associated Press contributed.
