Coke Zero and conversations: How a 65-year-old Israeli grandma tricked Hamas militants

In the midst of the Israel-Hamas conflict, a story of bravery and resilience has come to light as a 65-year-old Israeli woman became an unusual folk hero in the country.

According to Israeli media, Rachel Edri used conversation and food to keep the Hamas terrorists off-balance until the Israeli Defence Forces arrived and killed them.

As Hamas militants terrorised southern neighbourhoods, her quick thinking in the face of danger won her the nation’s admiration and served as a symbol of the spirit of regular Israelis put in dangerous situations.

Let’s take a closer look.

A fateful encounter

After an early-morning air-raid siren, Edri returned from a bomb shelter in her hometown of Ofakim to find a band of Hamas militants in her living room. As gunfire raged outside, Edri’s home saw a 20-hour tete-a-tete between hospitality and brutality, according to The Associated Press.

“One of the terrorists said to me, ‘You remind me of my mother.’ I told him, ‘I am really like your mother. I will help you, I will take care of you. What do you need?’” Edri told Ynet.

“I knew that if they are hungry, they are angry,” Edri told ABC News.

After one of the grenade-toting gunmen struck Edri across the face with the butt of his gun, Edri soothed him. “I told him I had to inject insulin, trying to distract them from the fact I have children who are police officers … I offered them drinks: Coke Zero, water.”

“After they drank and ate, they became much calmer,” Edri told Ynet, adding, “I started having conversations, and at one point I even forgot for a moment that they were terrorists.”

Further narrating how she joked around the captors, she said, “I’ll teach you Hebrew and you’ll teach me Arabic.’ I understood that it was a matter of life and death.”

David, Edri’s husband who was also captive with her, mentioned that the terrorists did not beat them but rather told them that they would be “martyrs” in a report on Channel 12.

Edri said she bandaged the hand of one of the injured terrorists and tried to comfort him. She engaged in conversation with the others to keep them preoccupied.

“I did it all to stay alive. I needed to stall until the cavalry came to the rescue,” Edri said.

When the security forces stormed into their house, David said he jumped over his wife to protect her. “He saved 40 years of marriage,” said Edri.

The rescue

After 17 hours, a rescue team was able to rescue Edri and her husband with the help of their son, a local policeman himself, Eviatar.

The terrorists had a hand grenade over Rachel’s head when the security personnel came, but the pin had been taken out. As they bargained with the security personnel, they made death threats against the married couple.

In order to alert her son that there were five hostage-takers inside her house, Rachel splayed her five fingers across her face. According to the report, Eviatar was persuaded to flee by a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, who then took over the rescue.

The Times of Israel said that the security forces initially considered bombing Edri’s house but were informed that the couple still lived there and that it belonged to the parents of another police officer.

As the forces were negotiating with the terrorists, Rachel kept them distracted.

With the house heavily damaged, Edri has been relocated to a hotel in central Israel, as per AP.

A group of civilians bearing pistols fought back Hamas militants armed with assault riots.

“They fought like lions here,” said Yoni Shalem, a man who lives down the street from Edri, describing the bravery of his neighbours. “Not the policemen, not the army — they did nothing. The only reason we’re alive is because of other citizens who came to protect us.”

Internet sensation

For plying the militants with snacks Edri has been touted online and in national media as the consummate Jewish mother, a play on the stereotype of a women who overfeeds guests. Israelis have also compared Edri to the biblical character of Yael, who slays an evil general by offering him food before killing him in his sleep.

Edri’s brother, Shimon Koram, said he was not surprised when he heard how Edri had managed to avoid near-certain death. Before the war, Edri was known for her hospitality and generosity, Koram said, working at a nearby military base cooking meals for soldiers.

The two were raised in a working class family in Ofakim with 12 siblings, he said, a childhood that taught them how to be scrappy.

“We learned to survive and acquired the wisdom of life like street cats,” Shimon said. “You can see that in how she acted.”

Meeting with Joe Biden

She was one of many Israelis who were invited to meet with President Joe Biden on Wednesday during his brief visit to Israel. As Biden congratulated her for defending the nation, she grinned and hugged him.

In response to the Hamas attack, Biden paid a visit to Israel on Wednesday. He expressed his support for Israel and sought to understand Israel’s military goals in order to prevent a regional conflict.

As it attempts to neutralise the threat posed by Hamas, he warned Israel to exercise caution. “After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice we also made mistakes,” he said.

A bombing at the Ahli Arab hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night that left over 500 people dead and infuriated Arab nations, which blamed Israel for the bombing, prompted the US president to make his quick trip.

With inputs from agencies