Thread by @shaunking

🚨STATEMENT from Ben Raanan, brother of Natalie Raanan, the young hostage that was freed by Hamas.

Ben, a longtime supporter of mine, was the American spokesperson for the family and first reached out to me for help on October 9th.

Followed by a THREAD of receipts/records.

Here is where Ben Raanan, the older brother of Natalie Raanan, first reached out to me for help finding and rescuing his sister.

This was in the afternoon of October 9th. We spoke and texted and messaged 100+ times after this.

I’ll provide those texts here.

Ask him directly.

In a phone conversation I just had with the family of Natalie Raanan, they relayed to me that because I was involved with her release that Israeli’s pressured them to distance themselves from me.

They also relayed that they do not feel safe in Israel right now as a result.

Here is the first text from Ben Raanan, brother Natalie Raanan, to me on the evening of October 9th.

What follows will be more of my text messages with Ben Raanan, older brother of the freed hostage Natalie Raanan.

We texted and talked and messaged non stop for the next 10 days.

And behind the scenes I spoke to every person I knew in Gaza to see if she could be freed.

What follows will be more of my text messages with Ben Raanan, older brother of the freed hostage Natalie Raanan.

We texted and talked and messaged non stop for the next 10 days.

And behind the scenes I spoke to every person I knew in Gaza to see if she could be freed.

On October 10th I made my first public post stating that the family of Natalie Raanan publicly and privately asked for my support and asked me to do anything I could to find out if she was alive and to help free her.

Here’s a link to that post:

instagram.com/p/CyOz9nDO3fE/…

After I made my first public post announcing my intent to help locate and rescue Natalie Raanan, here was the message from her family that I received.

Here they called my post “beautiful” and called me a “real hero.”

After I made my public post advocating for Natalie Raanan on October 10th, I began lobbying nonstop for her release behind the scenes with an eclectic group of 30+ people that would normally never work together or get along.

This past Monday the family said they agreed with my posts. But that the stress of the images online were too much for them.

On Wednesday, Ben Raanan, the brother of Natalie Raanan, asked me for advice on whether he should appear on Fox. I encouraged him to go anywhere that would have him. Which he did. And told him to “speak from the heart.”

Then we both heard a mother/daughter had been released.

For my own protection, and according to state law, I recorded all of my phone conversations with the family as well.

Here were my final texts with the family of Natalie Raanan.

They sent a live photo of the family and thanked me for my help.

Ben Raanan spoke to CNN and many local, national, and international media outlets on behalf of his family. And did a very good job fighting for his sister.

If any of those outlets want to contact him directly they can. You have his information.