Noa Argamani, 26, did not see sunlight for 245 days before daring Israeli special forces rescue… as friend says she is ‘happy’ to be going home but adds ‘it will take time to understand everything’
Israeli hostage Noa Argamani revealed she had not seen daylight for 245 days before being rescued in a daring raid by special forces deep in Gaza.
The 26-year-old, who was reunited with her ecstatic family on Saturday, had become the face of the October 7 massacre after a video emerged of her shouting ‘Don’t kill me’ as she was kidnapped from a music festival by Hamas terrorists . on motorcycles.
But serious questions have been raised about the human cost of the rescue mission – which also saw the release of three prisoners – with the Hamas-led Health Ministry claiming that 274 people were killed and 698 injured.
While it is unclear how many of these were civilians, gruesome footage from the aftermath of a gun battle during the Nuseirat area raid shows dozens of dead and injured women and children on the streets.
The terror group claims that the fatalities include three other hostages, one of whom has US citizenship – which an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman has dismissed as a “blatant lie”. The attack on Nuseirat was the largest hostage rescue mission since the war began, and news of its success sparked wild celebrations across Israel.
Israeli hostage Noa Argamani is hugged by her father after being rescued by a special Israeli operation
Ms Argamani meets with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu. The 26-year-old, who was reunited with her ecstatic family on Saturday
The terrified hostage became the face of the October 7 massacre after video emerged of her shouting “Don’t kill me” as she was kidnapped from a music festival by Hamas terrorists on motorcycles
When a photo was released of the filthy room where Noa was found, she revealed that she was being held by a ‘wealthy’ family but kept under armed guard, was rarely allowed to wash and never saw daylight when she was moved from from house to house at night while dressed as an Arab in an attempt to evade detection.
Noa was rescued along with 21-year-old Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, who were also at the Nova Festival when Hamas militants struck in October. They are all in “good medical condition” but are being held at the Sheba Medical Center, near Tel Aviv, for monitoring as a precaution.
Noa’s friend Amir Moadi, 29, said: ‘She is good – mentally good – and healthy. But Noa lost many friends on October 7. I think it will take time to understand everything. It feels like she’s in shock.
‘Because of all the people around her, she is now smiling and very happy. Before we saw her, she told us on the phone, “I’m coming home.” When you heard it from her, our hearts melted.”
Moadi hopes she will be discharged in the coming days. He said, “I told her it doesn’t matter when, what, where we’ll be with you. We’re not going to leave her – she’ll be with us every moment.”
Noa’s mother Liora, who is terminally ill with stage four brain cancer, had previously said she feared she might never see her daughter again.
After being reunited on Saturday, Professor Ronni Gamzu, the director of Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital where she is being treated, said he “believed Liora understood” her daughter was safe. what she really wanted to say to Noa.’
Describing the reunion yesterday, Noa’s father, Yaakov, said: ‘Unfortunately her mother is in a very difficult condition. They met, but it was very difficult.’
Last night, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said reports “of a new massacre of civilians are abhorrent,” adding: “The carnage must end.”
In response, Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner targeted Hamas for holding hostages in civilian areas and said the IDF was forced to call in air support after his squad “came under 360-degree fire.”
Hamas has warned that conditions for the remaining prisoners will now deteriorate. ‘The operation will entail great danger [for] the prisoners and will have a negative impact on their conditions,” said spokesman Abu Obaida.
