‘Don’t be afraid’: The moment Hamas abducted a woman and her daughter

Judith Raanan and her daughter were kidnapped by Hamas
For the first time, she talks publicly about what happened
A special report airs Wednesday on 'Elizabeth Vargas Reports'

Updated: Mar 13, 2024 / 11:50 AM EDT

(NewsNation) — On Oct. 7, Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter were in Israel to celebrate a birthday when Hamas militants stormed in.

“We heard gunfire,” Raanan told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas in her first public interview since the abduction.

“I heard Arabic, and I understood that I had two minutes to explain to my daughter what was about to happen,” Raanan told Vargas. “I said, ‘Honey, do you remember how you’ve seen the movies? Those guys that have all this military artillery and stuff that come with guns and all? That’s what is going to come through the door. So don’t panic. Just, you know, don’t be afraid.'”

Raanan lives in Chicago. She is a citizen of both Israel and the United States. She and her daughter were held as hostages for two weeks until they were released for what Hamas says were “humanitarian reasons.”

She tells Vargas what it was really like to be a hostage for those weeks and what she wants the world to know about the war. See the exclusive interview in a special report airing Wednesday on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” at 5 p.m. ET /4 p.m. CT on NewsNation.

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