Rahel Offered Her Captors Food And Occupied Them Until The Police Burst Inside

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In one of the most bizarre episodes which occurred during the catastrophic Shabbos of Simchas Torah, a couple in Ofakim managed despite being the hostages of ferocious Hamas terrorists to maintain a conversation with them and to stay alive for 20 hours until they were miraculously released by police special forces.

Rahel and her husband David were taken hostage by the terrorists early on the first day of the war. Utilizing her knowledge of Arabic, the resourceful woman offered the stunned thugs coffee and biscuits and said that “We are brothers”. The terrorist replied that he was not a brother, he was a shahid (martyr) but Rahel continued to ply them with food, fearing that if they were hungry they could act more violently.

Rahel described her ordeal graphically on Channel 13. “Five Rottweilers came in with Kalashnikovs and a grenade. They started to say “Allahu Aqbar, I am a Shahid” and told us to go upstairs. I was with my husband. I spoke with them, asking them “Have you eaten or drunk?” and then I told the police outside, one of them my son, to bring them food to eat and drink. We were like in a dream, we didn’t comprehend what was happening to us. During the afternoon I asked them if they wanted lunch, in order to distract their attention. I told them, “We’re brothers, don’t do this” and one of them responded “Allahu Aqbar, I’m a Shahid.” I told my husband to sit next to me and say Shema Yisrael.”

At one point a policeman from the negotiating team named Alex spoke with the terrorist and asked him to free Rahel but keep David in exchange for talking by phone with his wife and children. The terrorist answered that “If everyone will die, I don’t need to talk with my children. If we die, you will die and so will Rachel and David.

Rahel continued to engage them in conversation, asking how old they are and what they do and told them she would teach them songs. She even made a sign by putting a hand on her face to hint that there were five terrorists. When the terrorist warned her not to make such signs, she claimed she had a headache.

One of the terrorists went downstairs, the police killed him and injured another one. Rahel treated the terrorist, hoping to gain his trust. All this time she had a grenade near her head and guns pointing towards her.

Rahel didn’t believe the police would succeed in rescuing her. “They were four guys with guns and a grenade and my husband is helpless and weak. I told the policeman “I’m losing it, maybe I’ll tell them to kill me, I can’t go on like this.” He answered “Rahel, everything will be OK.”

Rahel’s son was also outside and mapped out the house for the rescue team. In the end they came via a porch and from the roof over the shower, eliminating the terrorists in a hail of bullets while David jumped on Rahel to protect her.

“I told the soldiers: ‘You are heroes, you saved my life’ and one of them said” ‘You are the hero, you listened to them and gave them food and water. I don’t know how I did it, they sat half a meter away from me when they were shot, I don’t know how I got out alive.”