Hostage Survivor Shoshan Haran Details Captivity and Mission to Expose Hamas
Translated & summarized from Davar by baba
Shoshan Haran, a survivor of the October 7th Hamas attack and hostage in Gaza for 50 days, has published a book detailing her experiences and analyzing the roots of the conflict. She advocates for addressing terror financing and reforming educational narratives in Gaza to prevent future violence, while also helping families displaced by the attack rebuild their lives.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Hostage survivor Shoshan Haran published a book detailing her captivity and analysis of the October 7th attack.
- She advocates for addressing terror financing and reforming Palestinian education.
- Haran lost her husband and sister in the attack and was held captive for 50 days.
- She co-founded an NGO to help families displaced by the attack.
- Haran believes Hamas captors are indoctrinated and seek Israel's destruction.
- She is actively campaigning for the release of all hostages.
Shoshan Haran, a 70-year-old survivor of the October 7th Hamas attack, has relocated from her destroyed home in Kibbutz Be'eri to Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi, finding the new landscape a stark contrast to the western Negev.
She recounts the harrowing experience of being abducted from her home along with her daughter Adi Sham, grandchildren Nave and Yahel, sister-in-law Sharon Avigdori, and her daughter Noam. They were dragged from their safe room, which had been breached by a bulldozer, and taken through the kibbutz, which had transformed into a scene of terror. Haran was held captive in Gaza for 50 days before being released in the first hostage deal. Upon her return, she learned her husband, Avshalom Haran, her sister Lilach Kipnis, brother-in-law Avitar Kipnis, and caregiver Paul Vincent Castel had been murdered. Her son-in-law, Tal Sham, who was held separately, remained captive for 505 days.
Since her release, Haran has been actively campaigning for the return of all hostages, traveling internationally, meeting with leaders, and establishing an NGO to aid families unable to return to the Gaza envelope. She has also authored a book, "Captive on a Mission," published in January 2026, detailing her experiences and analysis of the events leading up to October 7th. She states, "I haven't been released from the mission, not even today. Now the mission is to tell the world what really happened."
Haran reflects on her upbringing in Be'eri, a kibbutz founded with a strong sense of mutual responsibility and belief in providing good lives. Despite her parents' awareness of the dangers living near the border, she grew up with a sense of security, trusting the state's ability to protect its citizens. She acknowledges that while they knew about tunnels, they were unaware of the vastness and sophistication of Hamas's tunnel network.
Before October 7th, Haran worked as an agronomist, focusing on seed technology and assisting farmers in Africa through her NGO, Fair Planet. She founded the organization to bridge the gap between advanced seed technology and farmers in developing nations, aiming to provide equal opportunities. The initiative proved highly successful, tripling crop yields and increasing income sixfold in its initial location.
During her captivity, Haran developed a strategy to maintain a sense of order and reality for herself and her family. She engaged with her captors, viewing their actions through the lens of their upbringing and Hamas's ideology. She recounts a conversation with a captor named Mohammed, who expressed the belief that Israelis were colonialists with no right to be there and warned of a far worse future attack. This experience shattered her assumption that all people desire a safe and good life, realizing that for some, the goal is jihad and the destruction of Israel.
Upon her return, Haran immediately focused on securing the release of the remaining hostages, including her son-in-law Tal Sham. She has since addressed the UN Security Council and embarked on a global speaking tour to promote her book, which has been translated into English and other languages. The book analyzes the complex factors contributing to the October 7th attack, including sophisticated anti-Israel influence campaigns, terror financing, and the pervasive influence of extremist ideologies, particularly within educational systems.
Haran also co-founded the ReHome NGO to assist families traumatized by the attack who cannot return to their homes in the Gaza envelope, noting the state's lack of a comprehensive solution for such individuals. She has found a new home in Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi, where she is rebuilding her life with her daughter's family, though she acknowledges the profound trauma of losing her home and husband, Avshalom, and sister, Lilach.
She emphasizes the need to address both the funding of terror and the re-education of Palestinian children, citing Dr. David Hassan's schools in Gaza as a positive example of curriculum reform that promotes tolerance and conflict resolution. Haran believes that confronting these issues is crucial for preventing future tragedies.