Israel-Hamas war: How a 65-yr-old Israeli grandma tricked Hamas militants with tea, Moroccan cookies

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday met a 65-year-old grandmother who distracted grenade and rifle toting Hamas militants with tea and Morrocan cookies among other survivors of the carnage carried out on October 7.

Biden met the woman during his recent Israel visit to show support to the Jewish people. Upon meeting Biden, the woman hugged him as the POTUS thanked her for defending the country. 

The woman who distracted Hamas militants with tea and cookies is a 65-year-old retired woman Rachel Edri. Edri was held hostage at gunpoint in her home for nearly 20 hours by 5 Hamas militants. She had conversations with the militants and served them canned pineapple, tea and Moroccon cookies to distract them until the Israeli security forces arrived and captured the militants. 

On October 7, Rachel and her 68-year-old husband David were captured amid an invasion by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip who entered Israel and carried out a bloody rampage throughout the country. 

David told Channel 12 that the militants did not beat them but they told the couple that they were to become "martyrs". The couple was saved with the help of their son Evi, who is also a local police officer.

Armed with a pistol, Evi entered his parents' home and found his mother being held by a terrorist who had a hand grenade, with its pin removed, in his hand and threatened to kill her. Rachel had held five fingers over her face to tell her son that there were five militants in their home. 

When the security forces arrived at the scene, they had Evi retreat and took over the rescue.  The militants held a hand grenade with the pin removed over Rachel's head and also threatened to kill the couple while negotiating with the security forces.

When the security forces arrived, David said that he jumped over his wife to protect her. "He saved 40 years of marriage," Rachel said. As the forces were negotiating with the militants, Rachel kept them distracted. David added that Rachel "drove them crazy" since she kept asking them ad nauseum if they wanted something. 

Edri also recounted a conversation with one of the militants in yet another interview. She said the terrorist told her that she reminds him of his mother. "One of the militants 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 News.

Not only did Edri did use conversations to distract the militants, she also sang them Arabic songs, to which they replied with Hebrew songs. She added that the militants became much calmer after they ate and drank. "I started having conversations, and at one point I even forgot for a moment that they were militants," she further mentioned. 

She also said that she bandaged the hand of one of the injured militants and tried to comfort him. "I did it all to stay alive. I needed to stall until the cavalry came to the rescue," Rachel said. 

Even though Biden thanked Rachel Edri for saving the country, she and her husband are still not able to get back to her home and are staying with their son Eviatar. She told Ynet News that there is "no real house anymore" and that "they made a pogrom out of it". 

"I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes I see the terrorists. My husband and I are currently sleeping at the home of my son Eviatar. I can't go back to my house. There's no real house anymore, they made a pogrom out of it. I remember all the blood that was in it when at the end of they finally got me out of it. It's hard for me to see myself going back there again," Edri said. 

On October 7, Hamas militants launched the worst attack on Israel in 50 years, triggering a war that has already killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. More than 200 Israeli citizens have been taken as hostages by Hamas. 

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