Israeli Ex-Hostage Shoshan Haran Reflects on Naivety About Hamas and Captivity Experience
Shoshan Haran, an Israeli agronomist and founder of the NGO Fair Planet, who was taken hostage by Hamas from her home in Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023, has shared her experiences in an interview with FRANCE 24. Haran, speaking from Durham, North Carolina, as her memoir 'Mission in Captivity' is released in English, reflected on the community's prior interactions with Gaza residents, many of whom worked in the kibbutz and whose sick children were often driven to Israeli hospitals by kibbutz members. She admitted to a collective 'naivety' regarding Hamas's intentions, stating, 'We didn't really believe that they want to kill us all. Although they were explicit about it.' Haran was held in Gaza for 50 days with her daughter, sister-in-law, and their children. She recounted her determination not to 'show weakness' to her captors, drawing on lessons from Holocaust survivors. Upon her release, she learned her husband, Avshalom, and sister had been murdered on October 7, not abducted.
