Woman becomes Israeli folk hero for plying Hamas militants with snacks until rescue mission arrives

JERUSALEM (AP) — When Hamas militants toting grenades appeared in her living room, Rachel Edri served them tea and Moroccan cookies until police stormed in and killed the attackers.

Edri's tale of quick-witted survival during the Israel-Hamas war has turned the 65-year old woman into an unlikely folk hero in Israel. For many, she has come to symbolize the ingenuity of everyday Israelis left to fend for themselves as militants turned sleeping southern communities into bloodbaths on Oct. 7.

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.

“One of the terrorists said to me: ‘You remind me of my mother.'"