Terrorists broke into her house. She served coffee and cookies, waiting for rescue

An older married couple, Rachel and David, were held hostage in their home in Ofakim by five armed Hamas fighters who made their way into the town from the Gaza Strip. Their nightmare lasted for 15 hours. The hostess skillfully played for time, serving the attackers coffee and cookies until the police intervened.

The services were alerted by Rachel and David's son, who was aware of the seriousness of the situation and waited outside the house for events to unfold. He himself works in the police and immediately alerted the services that Islamists had broken into the house and were holding hostages. How did they manage this feat? Most likely through the ground floor bedroom window, which was open.

As it turned out, there were five attackers and they were very well armed.

The terrorists threatened Rachel and David with death, they did not intend to hide their intentions. They said they intended to kill the Israelis, but they didn't know what to do when the police appeared at the house. Negotiations even began, during which the Palestinians made further demands. Among other things, they needed a first aid kit.

I told my husband that if we die, we die together - Rachel told the media.

A couple from Ofakim was immensely lucky; they were rescued by the police. Their ordeal lasted 15 hours, but everything ended well. The police initially planned to immediately storm the building, but they were dissuaded by the couple's son, who helped the counter-terrorism team prepare a rescue operation for the hostages.

The Palestinians didn't really know what they wanted to achieve and probably didn't realize that they were trapped. They treated the wounded, nervously deliberating on what to do next. The atmosphere thickened, and Rachel served them coffee and cookies. She continuously asked her captors if they needed anything.

It was very brave and very unexpected behavior. The services had time to start negotiations, and then prepare for a raid on the house.

I asked them if they were hungry. I prepared coffee and cookies for them - the brave woman boasted.

She effectively diverted their attention, one of the attackers even broke into a joyful song. The woman also managed to discreetly signal the negotiators, informing them with a hand gesture how many attackers there were. The police already had everything: the house plan, the number of terrorists and hostages. Special forces began their assault at night.

The police entered the house through the skylight in the bathroom. All assailants have been neutralized, Rachel and David were set free. Their house has been severely damaged, but both can be thankful that they are alive.

In the attack on Israel, Hamas killed over 700 people, several thousand are injured. Over a hundred hostages were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.