Noa Argamani reveals her fears for her mother and father throughout imprisonment

Freed Hamas hostage Noa Argamani has shared how her ‘biggest worry’ in Hamas captivity was for her parents as she called for ‘everything possible’ to be done to free those still trapped in Gaza – including her boyfriend.

Noa said in a video released Saturday by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum that during her 246 days imprisoned it was ‘a great privilege to be by my mother’s side… It’s a great privilege to see my parents, surrounded by so many good people.’

The 26-year-old, who made global headlines when she was filmed on the back of a motorcycle being dragged into Gaza during Hamas’ incursion into Israel last October, thanked those who ‘risked their lives so that I could return home’ during a daring rescue mission on June 8.

‘I mourn with the family of [counter-terrorism chief inspector] Arnon Zmora, who fell during the rescue operation of me and three other hostages. My heart is with his family. Arnon is a hero of Israel, and because of him, we are here.

‘I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that there are still 120 hostages in Hamas captivity. Among them is Avinatan Or, my partner, from whom I was separated at the moment of abduction.’

In a closing statement, Argamani said she wishes ‘for all of us to have more peaceful days, to be surrounded by family, friends and good people’.

‘Most importantly, may we learn to love and not hate.’

In a moving, two-minute video shown on a giant screen in the centre of Tel Aviv last night, Noa shared her deep concern for her parents during her eight months in captivity.

‘As an only child to my parents – and a daughter to a mother with a terminal illness – my biggest worry in captivity was for my parents,’ she said.

‘It’s a great privilege to be here after 246 days in Hamas captivity. It’s a great privilege to be by my mother’s side after 8 months of uncertainty. 

‘It’s a great privilege to see my parents, surrounded by so many good people.’

Noa was reunited with her mother at the Ichilov Medical Centre in Tel Aviv shortly after she was pulled out of Gaza by Israeli special forces.

Liora Argamani has stage four brain cancer and had repeatedly expressed her desire to see her daughter again.

After their reunion doctors said Noa’s mother Liora, who has stage-four brain cancer ‘believed that Liora understood’ her daughter was safe but wasn’t able to express her feelings.

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.’

Noa was rescued in a dramatic sweep through a building ostensibly in the Nuseirat, Gaza Strip.

Fast-paced headcam footage showed Israeli troops moving through the compound, which appeared to be a house, with natural light and a fitted kitchen.

She is seen to be pulled out into the street as her rescuers urge her to ‘stop’, apparently checking they are clear to move before rushing her towards a car.

Grainy black and white video shared by Israel last week purported to show three hostages then taking of in an Israeli helicopter after their rescue to head back to Israel.

As a picture was released of the squalid room where Noa was found, she has revealed she was held by a ‘well-to-do’ family but kept under armed guard, was rarely allowed to wash and never saw daylight as she was moved from house to house at night while dressed as an Arab in a bid to evade detection.

Noa was saved 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.

The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters – a volunteer-based organisation set up to help bring hostages home – called the recovery of the four hostages ‘a miraculous triumph’ at the time, and called on Israel’s government to bring home those still being held. 

The Israeli government faces increasing pressure at home and abroad over both its conduct in the Gaza Strip and the limited progress in returning those snatched from Israel on October 7 so far.

With the exception of a one-week truce in November, in which 105 hostages were released in return for some 240 Palestinian protestors, June’s raid was the most successful effort by the Israeli military to return hostages.

But Serious questions have been raised over the human cost of the rescue mission – which also freed another three captives – with the Hamas-run health ministry claiming it left 274 people dead and 698 wounded. 

While it is unclear how many of these were civilians, horrific images from the aftermath of a gun battle during the raid in the Nuseirat area show scores of dead and wounded women and children on the streets.

This evening, thousands attended a weekly rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square demanding the release of hostages.

The event featured the video from Noa Argamani, stressing the urgency of their return.

Family members of hostages joined the anti-government protestors and gave speeches outside Israel’s defence ministry complex.

Similar protests broke out in Jerusalem, Caesarea, Haifa and Be’er Sheva. 

But Hamas says no progress has been made in ceasefire talks with Israel over the Gaza war.

Osama Hamdan, a senior official of Gaza’s de facto governing authority, claimed it was ready to ‘deal positively’ with any proposal that brings an end to the conflict, now 266 days in.

Arab mediators’ efforts, backed by the United States, have so far failed to conclude a ceasefire, with both sides blaming each other for the impasse. 

Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel says it will accept only temporary pauses in fighting until Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, is eradicated.

Hamas led a horrifying incursion into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,170 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The militant group, rejecting Israel’s right to exist and committed to its destruction, has justified the attack as a response to what it called Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

Horrifying scenes showed Hamas and other factions wielding Kalashnikov-style assault rifles as they stormed into towns and a music festival in Israel. 

In the months since, Israel has pounded the dense Gaza Strip with aerial attacks, displacing the vast majority of the population.

Around 80 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes, severe hunger is widespread and UN officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine. 

As of June 29, nearly 38,000 people are reported to have been killed in Israel’s attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. 

Israel has stated its war objectives to be returning the hostages and definitively vanquishing Hamas.

Criticism has fallen on Israel from its allies over civilian casualties and the failure to return the hostages after nearly nine months of fighting.