Did BLM activist Shaun King help free American hostages from Gaza? Family refutes his claims

American writer and BLM activist Shaun King wrote in an Instagram post on October 20, 2023, that he helped two American hostages get freed from Hamas terrorists. The names of the hostages are Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter, Natalie Raanan.

However, the Raanan family members have denied any affiliation with King or his involvement in the two hostages' rescue.

"First and foremost, we make it clear that he is lying! Our family does not and did not have anything to do with him, neither directly nor indirectly. Not to him and not to anything he claims to represent," the Raanan family said in a statement.

Natalie's father did reveal that her brother had been in contact with the influencer but the family did not have any inkling of any contact between the two, at the time of the statement, as per The New York Post. Shaun has since claimed that he “spoke directly and repeatedly with this family” since October 9, 2023.

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The Ranaan family talks about Shaun King's alleged involvement in the hostage rescue

On October 7, 2023, Hamas, a Sunni Islamist political and military organization governing the Gaza Strip, attacked Southern and Central Israel by launching at least one thousand rockets. They invaded the borders, killing around 1,400 people and kidnapping civilians from their homes.

According to the Israeli Government, Hamas has taken around 222 hostages, including foreigners, as reported by CBS.

As per BBC, Israel confirmed Brig Gen Gal Hirsch, together with members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), had received mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan from Hamas at the Gaza boundary on Friday evening.

Natalie had recently graduated from high school, and the pair are residents of Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

On the same day, BLM activist Shaun King spoke about the news, saying he had a part in their rescue and that he was in close contact with the Ranaan family. King said:

"Hamas has just freed the teenager Natalie Raanan and her mother. I’m grateful. As I said last week, Natalie and her family have been supporters of mine and protested police violence in America alongside us."

He continued to talk about his contributions to the two United States citizens' rescue, saying:

"I am also thankful for the Qatari government for helping to negotiate this. Dozens of us worked frantically behind the scenes to help make this possible. I spoke to Natalie’s family this afternoon and they are anxiously awaiting more updates."

The Ranaan family, however, was not on board with Shaun King's claims of the alleged shared connection. They released a statement insisting that he was lying and that there had been no contact between King and the family.

However, Uri Raanan, Natalie's father talked about her half-brother Ben having a few conversations with Shaun King when the family was frantically looking for activists and government officials' help to rescue Judith and Natalie Raanan. He told the Daily Beast:

"We reached out to many people far and wide to bring Natalie and Judith to safety. We are not affiliated with Mr. King. Ben, my son was talking with him without anybody in the family knowing about it until today."

Uri clarified that they did not know of any contact between Ben and Shaun King at the time of the initial statement. He explained:

"Our family in Israel posted this statement denying we knew him before we learned about Ben talking to him. We have nothing further to say."

Shaun did not take the family's statement of "no affiliation" with him well. He has since gone on the defensive, as per BBC.

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Shaun King provides "receipts" of conversations with the Raanan family

On October 23, 2023, Shaun King posted a statement on his social media accounts expressing that the Ranaan family reached out to him first and he had the receipts to prove it.

King started by saying that he was trending at number 1 because people were thinking he allegedly "made up" assistance in locating and rescuing Natalie Ranaan.

"At the advice of my attorneys, I kept every text, DM, screenshot, and, according to state law, recorded all of my phone conversations. Thank God. My fear was that I would be framed by the American government. I also knew the Israeli government were master liars. Receipts came in handy nonetheless," he said.

He added that he "did not reach out to this family." They reached out to him and said they were "supporters of me, my work, and protested against police violence" as per The New York Post.

The Ranaan family has not responded to Shaun King's latest claim.