His terrified face has until now been one of the symbols of Hamas’ mass kidnapping in the October 7 massacre. Now his smile and the hugs with his father and loved ones give new hope to the families of the over 120 people still in the hands of the terrorist organization. Among the 4 hostages freed by the Israeli armed forces is also Noa Argamanithe 25-year-old who in a video released by the kidnappers shouted “don’t kill me” as she was taken away on a motorbike.
The kidnapping of Noa Argamani
The kidnapping of Noa Argamani was among the stories that had most affected the world in the terrorist attack on the Supernova rave in the Negev desert: from that video the father had tearfully discovered that his daughter had been kidnapped.
In the images published immediately after the October 7 massacre by Hamas, you could see the girl, a second year computer engineer at Ben Gurion University, loaded onto a motorbike as she desperately held out her arms towards her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, who was also kidnapped.
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There Noa’s mother, Liora, of Chinese origins, was terminally ill with cancer and on several occasions he had asked to be able to hug his only daughter again before dying. In an appeal addressed to US President Joe Biden and also broadcast by CNN, her mother had asked as a Christmas present to see the 25-year-old for the last time: in November she was also filmed while she said goodbye to her forever.
The release of the hostages
Among the first images of the liberation of the four hostages, Israeli News 12 broadcast Noa Argamani’s embrace with her father. The 25-year-old was then transferred, in good condition, to the “Sheba” medical center in Tel-HaShomer for further tests, where she was reunited with her relatives and received the embrace of the most loved ones.
In the hospital the girl received a phone call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog. “”I am very excited, I haven’t spoken Hebrew in so long” were the first words addressed to the prime minister.
The reaction in Israel
The news of Israel’s release of the four hostages sparked joy throughout the country. “The heroic operation of the IDF – declared the Forum of the families of the hostages – which freed and brought home Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov and Almog Meir Jan is a miraculous triumph. Now, with joy overwhelming Israel, the government must remember its commitment to bring back all 120 hostages still held by Hamas: the living for rehabilitation, the killed for burial.”
“We continue to call on the international community to exert the necessary pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed agreement and release the another 120 hostages held prisoner. Every day is a day too many” they stated from the association of relatives of the kidnapped people.
Photo source: Screenshot AFP/ X – State of Israel
