“I had cuts on my head; they [Hamas] beat me all over my body,” said Noa Argamani. “No one came to give me medical help. Nobody. Until I was rescued.”
For the first time since being rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza, Argamani, one of the symbols of the October 7 massacre, spoke of her experience. She met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on Thursday and spoke of the horrors she went through.
“Every night, I was falling asleep and thinking, this may be the last night of my life,” she said in English at the meeting in Tokyo. “Until the moment I was [rescued]… I just did not believe that I’m still surviving.”
Argamani added that the fact that she made it to their meeting in Japan, “is a miracle.”
“And in this moment that I’m still sitting with you, it’s a miracle that I’m here. It’s a miracle because I survived October 7, and I survived this bombing, and I survived also the rescue,” Argamani said of the complicated release.
She added, “Avinatan, my boyfriend, is still there, and we need to bring them back before it’s going to be too late.”
Noa Argamani’s captivity
Argamani was taken hostage during the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and rescued on June 8. The meeting, which also included Noa’s father, Yacov Argamani, and Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen, focused on Noa recounting her experience as a hostage. Noa requested Japan’s help in securing the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas. Kamikawa expressed her relief at Noa’s reunion with her family and emphasized Japan’s commitment to diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire and resolving the Gaza situation. Japan has not yet met with any Palestinian victims of the Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
On June 8, The IDF announced that they had successfully rescued Argamani during an operation in the heart of Nuseirat.
26-year-old Argamani was rescued alongside three other hostages: Almog Meir (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40). Miraculously, Argamani’s rescue fell on the same day as her father’s birthday.
Her mother, Liora Argamani, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and has been vocal in the media about her desire to see her daughter again before her time runs out. Liora’s death was announced by Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center on July 2. “My mother is the best friend there is, the most beautiful and strong person I have ever known in my life,” Noa paid tribute at her funeral. “I stand here today and still have a hard time digesting. Against all odds I was privileged to be with you in the last moments and to hear the last words.”
In an attempt to secure her return, Netanyahu asked China in December for their support as Noa’s mother is from China.
“The heroic operation by the IDF that freed and brought home Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov, and Almog Meir Jan is a miraculous triumph. Now, with the joy that is washing over Israel, the Israeli government must remember its commitment to bring back all 120 hostages still held by Hamas – the living for rehabilitation, the murdered for burial,” The Hostages Families Forum said. “We continue to call upon the international community to apply the necessary pressure on Hamas to accept the proposed deal and release the other 120 hostages held in captivity; every day there is a day too far.”
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