Evanston Mother, Daughter Feared Captured By Hamas On Visit To Israel

EVANSTON, IL — An Evanston woman and her daughter are missing and feared captured from a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip.

Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan were visiting relatives in Nahal Oz Saturday as it was attacked by Hamas terrorists.

Family members say they have not been heard from since. The rabbi of Judith's congregation, Chabad of Evanston, said they had apparently been abducted and asked for prayers for her and her daughter. And the principal of Deerfield High School, from which Natalie graduated earlier this year, said she has been reported missing and that her family "fears that she has been taken hostage by Hamas."

Nahal Oz is a town of fewer than 500 people located about a half a mile from the border with Gaza. More than a dozen people were killed in the village, the Associated Press reported.

On Monday, President Joe Biden said 11 American citizens were among those killed during the Hamas attacks.

"While we are still working to confirm, we believe it is likely that American citizens may be among those being held by Hamas," Biden said.

One woman learned from online videos that her daughters, aged eight and 15, had been captured from the kibbutz. Another video shows their father being taken across the border into Gaza, according to the AP.

Two Nahal Oz residents told the Guardian that they were sure two entire families have been killed in the village and two more had been taken to Gaza as hostages.

“It took a while for us to figure out that they had taken some of the people’s phones, and were messaging in Hebrew that it was safe to come out," Nadav Peretz said. "Then they killed more.”

Journalist Amir Tibon described spending more than 10 hours in a safe room in their Nahal Oz home before being rescued by his 62-year-old father and another retired general who had driven south and joined with Israeli soldiers on the way.

A billion-dollar, 40-mile anti-tunnel barrier between Israel and the Gaza Strip dubbed the "iron wall" was completed in December 2021. The Wall Street Journal reported videos of Saturday's cross-border attacks show Hamas militants cut holes in the fence to allow motorcycles to drive through and, in at least one section, used construction equipment to knock down the fence.

At least 700 people are reported to have been killed in Israel and about 100 captured, with another 560 people killed in Gaza from Israeli retaliatory strikes, according to the BBC. On Monday, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said its troops had regained full control of all towns along the border with Gaza.

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