Who are Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan?

Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan are an American mother and daughter duo who have been released by Hamas after being captured as hostags.

Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie were caught up in the fighting of the Israel-Hamas war and ended up being captured.

However, good news arrived on Friday, October 20th 2023 when news dropped that a couple of American hostages have been freed by Hamas.

They were identified as mother-daughter duo Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan.

“Hamas released two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natali Raanan, on Friday,” CNN reported.

The publication added: “The US citizens were handed over at the border with Gaza and are now in the care of the Israel Defense Forces, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday.

“They are currently on their way to an Israeli military base to be reunited with family, according to the office for Israel’s prime minister,”

That has naturally set off a mad rush to learn about Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan and being the explainer site that we are, we are going to provide all the information we have about them.

Join us as we answer the question: Who are Judith Tai Raanan and Natalia Raanan?

Who is Judith Tai Raanan?

Judith Tai Raanan is an American beautician and life coach who along with her daughter, Natalie Raanan, where kidnapped by Hamas during the Israel-Hamas war of 2023.

Their disappearance sparked fears amongst their families considering the atrocities of Hamas so far, including what happened to Shani Louk.

So what do we know about Judith? Uri Raanan is married to Judith Tai Raanan and they have a daughter, Natalie.

59-year-old Judith Raanan is a graduate of Oakton College in Des Plaines, Illinois.

The Raanan family are residents of Evanston in Illinois.

Judith Tai Ranaan and Natalie Raanan, 17, flew to Israel in early September to spend a few weeks visiting family over the holidays.

They were in the Nahal Oz kibbutz visiting Natalie’s grandmother on Saturday, October 07th when the war started with Hamas’ invasion of Israel.

Natalia managed to call her father, Uri Raanan, to reveal Natalie called him Saturday morning to reveal they were hiding in a bunker but they eventually got captured.

Thankfully, the duo were released by Hamas a week later on Friday, October 20th.

Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie being released

Judith Tai Raanan serves as a ‘professional coach focusing on coaching living the life that you want’, according to her LinkedIn page.

Writing about her choice of career, she wrote: “It started with understanding my own’ very different people’ in my family.

“Later, as an experienced Professional Licenced Esthetician, In Pennsylvania’ Philadelphia, Illinois -Chicago, and Israel, in the very intimate facial room, I have realized that the facial is much deeper than a surface job and well being It contains the balance, well being and inner inquiry for a better life,” she continued.

Judith Tai Raanan added: “Today, my focus is on my client’s inner/ outer well being, fulfillment and happiness,”

The American also has an eyebrows and eyeliner company named Eyebrows by Judith which carries out Eyebrow Microblading in Evanston.

Her bio on her Eyebrows by Judith website reads: “Hi! I am Judith Tai Raanan PROFESSIONAL EYEBROWS ARTIST.

“Judith Tai Raanan is a certified medical esthetician whose keen interest in beauty and wellness reflects in her work itself.

“As an artist, she has evolved from a licensed aesthetician to professional medical esthetician allowing her to practice this job professionally and pursue her dream as a medical esthetician,”

A review from a customer testifies to Judith’s talents, writing: “Looking for permanent makeup eyebrows and eyeliner services near you? If you are in Illinois, consider contacting Judith. She is the best you have got,”

Judith and her daughter Natalie Raanan had been planning their Israeli trip for a while, according to the Rabbi of Evanston Chabad, outside Chicago, Meir Hecht.

“They’d been planning this trip for a long time,” Hecht said.

“It was a special trip for the holiday season, for Rosh Hashanah through the end of Sukkot, and they’d been sending us messages and emails, and it seemed like they were having a really special time until we heard the worst news.”

They were in Nahal Oz for Simchat Torah when the Hamas attack occured.

Rabbi Hecht said Judith has been involved in Chabad programs and services for more than a decade.

“She’s a generous, loving and kind individual. She was really excited to be spending the holiday season with her daughter in Israel.”

“Judith, we’re thinking of you, of your resilience, your hope, your love, your generosity, your faith and strength,” said her friend Yehudis Hecht.

Thankfully, the saga came to a happy ending on October 20th with Hamas releasing Judith and her daughter.

Two of the hostages, mother and daughter Yehudit Tai and Natali Shoshana Raanan were released by the Hamas terror organization and were transferred to the Israeli border via the Red Cross.

They are on their way to an army base in central Israel were their families are anxiously… pic.twitter.com/S4WZKUlE2h
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 20, 2023

“We have so much gratitude to the almighty God for this miracle,” said Rabbi Hecht, adding: “We still have deep pain for all those hostages that are still there.”

Natalie’s half-brother, Ben Raanan, told the BBC he felt an “overwhelming sense of gratitude to the large community of people around the world who have put my sister at the forefront of their thoughts, of their prayers, of all religions and all beliefs”.

Judith and Natalie Raanan

Natalie Raanan is the daughter of Uri and Judith Tai Raanan and is an American teenager who ros to prominent following her and her mother being released as hostages by Hamas after the terror group kidnapped them.

The 17-year-old and her mother had visited Israel for the holidays when tragedy struck and they were kidnapped at the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Natalie is 17 years old and is set to turn 18 soon. She had just graduated from Deerfield High School, her father Uri Haanan told the media.

Prior to their release, a prayer vigil was held in Evanston Thursday for Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie.

“I want them to come back alive because they’re innocent and loving, and they didn’t do anything, just innocent,” said aunt Sigal Zamir.

“Kind person. She’s a sweetheart. She loves animals, liked life, liked friends, typical teenager,” uncle Avi Zamir said of Natalie.

Good news will arrive Friday after Hamas decided to let the duo go.

Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan were handed over to the Red Cross and are “on their way out,” a source familiar with negotiations for their release said, according to CNN.

The duo are being released on “humanitarian grounds” because Judith Tai Raanan is in poor health, the same source said.

The release was the result of negotiations between Qatar and Hamas.

In a statement, Hamas spokesperson Abu Obaida said: “In response to Qatari efforts, Al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens (a mother and her daughter) for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.”

Qatar confirmed the release of Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie and said they will “continue dialogue with Israel and Hamas in hope of releasing all civilian hostages from every nationality,” the spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Majid Al-Ansari said in a statement.

In a statement on Friday, President Joe Biden said he is “overjoyed” that the two US citizens will “soon be reunited with their family,” and called for their privacy. Biden reiterated that his administration has been “working around-the-clock” to free Americans held hostage by Hamas.

“Jill and I have been holding close in our hearts all the families of unaccounted for Americans,” he said.

“And, as I told those families when I spoke with them last week—we will not stop until we get their loved ones home. As President, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans held hostage around the world.”

Joe Biden went on to reveal he spoke to the hostages and also released a photo of them.

Judith natalie raanan — The freed hostages speak with Joe Biden via phone

Israel-Hamas conflict

The below is a short summary of the Israel-Hamas conflict from Wikipedia.

An ongoing armed conflict between Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas and Israel began on 7 October 2023, with a coordinated surprise offensive on Israel.

The attack began in the morning with a barrage of at least 3,000 rockets launched from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip against Israel.

In parallel, some 2,500 Palestinian militants breached the Gaza–Israel barrier and attacked several IDF military bases and their neighboring civilian areas in Gaza envelope.

At least 1,400 Israelis were killed, including 260 people at a music festival in Re’im, the deadliest concert attack in history.

Unarmed civilian hostages and captured Israeli soldiers were taken to the Gaza Strip, including women and children.

Israel began conducting retaliatory strikes before formally declaring war on Hamas a day later.

Hamas launched its attacks during the end of the Sukkot Jewish holiday and 50 years after the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

The Gaza–Israel conflict has been ongoing since 2006.

Hamas avoided major engagements with Israel in 2022 and most of 2023, instead covertly preparing for its major offensive, Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

Hamas said it received support from Iran for the attack, which it says was in response to Israeli settler violence, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as Israeli atrocities against Palestinians over the decades.

Israel cleared Hamas forces from the southern Israeli communities where the massacres took place, and conducted airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, which killed 2,750 Palestinians as of 15 October.

The United Nations reported that around 1 million Palestinians, nearly half of Gaza’s population, have been internally displaced.

Fears of a humanitarian crisis were heightened after Israel cut off food, water, electricity, and fuel supplies to Gaza, which had already been blockaded by both Egypt and Israel.

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