Chicago mother who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 alongside her daughter, 18, describes the terrifying moment when armed attackers burst into her home while teen was still in pajamas

A Chicago mother who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 described the terrifying moment when armed attackers burst into her home while she and her 18-year-old daughter were still in pajamas. 

Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan, then 17, were the first hostages to be released by Hamas after the October 7 massacre in Israel that saw 1,200 victims killed and more than 200 people kidnapped. 

The Chicago-based mother joined NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas on Wednesday evening, revealing startling details about the two weeks in captivity on TV for the first time since her release. 

'It's like Russian Roulette. You don't know if you are going to be dead or alive,' she said, recalling the morning of October 7, 2023, when she and her daughter heard gunshots from Nahal Oz, one of several kibbutzim near the Gaza border. 

Judith and her daughter Natalie, who have dual American-Israeli citizenship, were in Israel in October last year to celebrate Judith's mother's birthday and the start of the Jewish holiday season. 

Chicago mother Judith Raanan, 59, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 along with her 18-year-old daughter described the terrifying moment when armed attackers burst into her home while she and her girl were still in pajamas

The Chicago-based mother joined NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas on Wednesday evening, revealing startling details about the two weeks in captivity on TV for the first time since her release

Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan(pictured), then 17, were the first hostages to be released by Hamas after the October 7 massacre in Israel that saw 1,200 victims killed and more than 200 people kidnapped.

On that Sunday morning, the pair received a phone call warning them not to go outside, and then started hearing gunshots from far away.  

'I started walking towards the room of my daughter, and that was also the moment that a rocket hit the bedroom where I was,' Judith said.

'And then until I heard some Arabic, I understood that I have two minutes to explain to my daughter what is about to happen,' she added. 

Realizing the attack was ongoing, Judith spent the next few minutes telling her daughter to stay calm and don't panic. 

'I simply said, 'Honey, do you remember how you seen the movies? Those guys that have all this military artillery and stuff that come with guns and all?'' 

She remembered saying to her daughter: 'So that's what's gonna come through the door. So don't panic. Just you know, don't be afraid.' 

When armed attackers burst into their home and held the pair at gunpoint, Judith and Natalie were still in their pajamas. 

'My girl was afraid. She said, "Mom, I'm afraid to be raped." I said nobody's going to do nothing to you,' Judith said.

The mother recalled that the attackers threatened to kill everyone if she didn't convince the people hiding in the safe rooms to leave.

'He's telling 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 officials from the Red Cross in late October. 

A handout photo made available on 21 October by the US Embassy in Jerusalem on their official X account shows US citizens Judith Raanan (R) and daughter Natalie Raanan (L) speaking on the phone with US President Joe Biden (not pictured) following their release after being abducted by Hamas, in Israel, early 21 October 2023

While the Hamas terrorists were raiding their room, Judith didn't forget to bring some colorful pencils and sing songs to keep Natalie calm. 

She remembered singing 'What a wonderful world' by Louis Armstrong to her daughter when they were captured. 

'And she goes like, "Mom, I don't think that this is appropriate. This is not so wonderful right now." And I said 'this is appropriate. You are Jewish Queen, you are my princess,' Judith said. 

The Hamas attackers marched the hostages, zip-tied and at gunpoint, through the desert to the Gaza border. 

Judith's hand was badly cut when one of the Hamas men removed her restraints with a sharp knife, leaving her with a scar that she still has now. 

'That's when I said to God, "Do you want me to die like this?" I knew that if the blood kept on going, 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 Gaza hospital, the hostages were greeted as heroes, the 59-year-old mother recalled.

'The minute we came in, all the nurses were standing there and going like this [cheering]. They were all so happy that they came back with prey, with Israeli-Jewish prey.' 

After spending two weeks in captivity in Gaza, the mother and daughter were handed over to officials from the Red Cross in late October. 

But for Judith, there's no reason to celebrate the release, as she continues worrying for her family and every hostage held captive by Hamas. 

While the Hamas terrorists were raiding 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's no reason to celebrate the release, as she continues worrying for her family and every hostage held captive 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 OK? Is she dead? Is she alive? You had no way of knowing,' she said. 

'We have hostages that are going through mental, physical, emotional hardship and need to be released.' 

Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed during the Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on October 7, and around 250 people were abducted. Hamas is believed to still be holding around 100 hostages.

Palestinian authorities claim most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forced from their homes by the war.

The Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its death toll count, says that women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

A quarter of Gaza's population is starving, according to the United Nations.