In a harrowing ordeal that lasted nearly 20 hours, a mother in Israel managed to distract her armed captors by serving them coffee, cookies, and Coke Zero.
According to The Times of Israel, Rachel Edry and her husband David were taken hostage in their home in Ofakim, a small town near the Gaza Strip, during a surprise attack by heavily armed Palestinian militants.
The couple was awakened early in the morning by the sound of broken glass as the militants entered their bedroom.
The intruders, armed with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades, forced the couple upstairs and began ransacking their home. Fearing for their lives, Rachel decided to take a different approach to keep the situation from escalating.
"I saw that they were angry. I asked if they were hungry, and then I made coffee and served cookies for them," Rachel said. The atmosphere lightened, and at one point, the militants even began singing along to an Israeli pop song.
Outside their home, Israeli soldiers and police were negotiating with the kidnappers. Rachel tried to send signals to the authorities by frequently going to the bathroom, hoping they would realize she was still alive. "I didn't think I would get out of there alive," she admitted.
Finally, at 2:30 a.m., a grenade was thrown into the house, providing the couple an opportunity to escape. "Instead of killing us, the terrorists ran to different places and hid until they were shot," Rachel said.
After nearly 20 hours, the couple was freed and reunited with their sons, who were waiting outside. "When one of the officers took my hand, I realized I had escaped," said David Edry.
