The militants poured out of vans and stormed into the festival unimpeded and sprayed bullets into the crowd.<\/p>\n
Young people were sent running through the fields and along a nearby road to escape as rocket fire exploded around them, begging not to be killed.<\/p>\n
Hundreds were gunned down as they attempted to escape in any way they could.<\/p>\n
Loading…<\/p>\n
In the chaos and panic, the militants tore Noa away from Avinatan and bundled her onto the back of a motorbike.<\/p>\n
“Don’t kill me,” she desperately cried, reaching for her partner with one arm, the other pinned down.<\/p>\n
Captors whisked her down a dirt road.<\/p>\n
Avinatan was marched away by a group of men.<\/p>\n
It was the last moment the couple would see each other for more than two years.<\/p>\n
A glimmer of hope<\/p>\n
Noa was locked away alongside two male hostages, Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky.<\/p>\n
There, they were subjected to “brainwashing” and emotional abuse.<\/p>\n
Their captors forced them to read the Quran and study Islamic rulings, shifting them between several apartments in al-Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza.<\/p>\n
Everywhere she went, Noa asked about Avinatan, not knowing whether he had been kidnapped or murdered.<\/p>\n
Occasionally, she was allowed to go outside, dressed as a Palestinian woman. She never saw signs of her partner.<\/p>\n
Unbeknownst to Noa, she had become one of the faces of the October 7 attacks at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
Footage of her abduction had become synonymous with calls for the release of the dozens of hostages in Hamas’ captivity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Imagery of Noa Argamani’s abduction was widely used by those calling for her release. (Reuters: Shir Torem)<\/p>\n
But as the days drew on, the world had little knowledge of whether Noa was still alive.<\/p>\n
That was, until January 14, 2024.<\/p>\n
Hamas released a video of Noa and her fellow captives, asking Israel to bring them home.<\/p>\n
Another video of Noa was released the next day, in which she said Yossi and Itay had been killed.<\/p>\n
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later determined Yossi likely died during an air strike on a building near where the group was being held.<\/p>\n
“I saw the missile hit the house. I thought I was going to die,” Noa recalled months later.<\/p>\n
Israel says Itay was murdered<\/a> days after Yossi died.<\/p>\n For her parents, the videos were the first tangible glimmer of hope that they might one day see their daughter again.<\/p>\n Noa’s parents campaigned tirelessly for her return. (Reuters: Shir Torem)<\/p>\n Her mother Liora and father Yaakov continued to call for her return to Israel.<\/p>\n A former Chinese national, Liora approached the Chinese embassy for help to no avail.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, too, appealed to the Chinese ambassador to call for Chinese President Xi Jinping to intervene.<\/p>\n But Beijing refused to step in because Liora had renounced her citizenship \u2014 a decision previously forced by China’s prevention of dual citizenship, according to a report by Ynet<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, Noa’s parents did not give up hope.<\/p>\n But for Liora, time was running out.<\/p>\n She was dying of brain cancer and had just months to live.<\/p>\n “I want to see her one more time. Talk to her one more time,” Liora said in a video pleading with Hamas.<\/p>\n “I don’t have a lot of time left in this world.”<\/p>\n Eight months went by.<\/p>\n A rescue operation<\/p>\n On the morning of Saturday, June 8, 2024, Noa heard loud knocks from outside the apartment.<\/p>\n It was the IDF, come to rescue her as part of a “complex daytime operation” that had been planned for weeks.<\/p>\n She was transported by helicopter to Sheba Medical Center for examination, where it was determined she was malnourished.<\/p>\n Noa was one of four hostages to be rescued and reunited with their families in Israel that day, after spending eight traumatising months as a hostage.<\/p>\n Noa Argamani was rescued after spending eight months in captivity. (Reuters: Israeli Army\/Handout)<\/p>\n She buried her tearful face in her father’s chest the first time she saw him.<\/p>\n It was Yaakov’s birthday.<\/p>\n “What a present I received,” he said of his daughter’s return.<\/p>\n “There’s no army like this in the world.”<\/p>\n In a phone conversation with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Noa said she was “so happy” to be free.<\/p>\n “I am very excited; I haven’t spoken Hebrew for so long.”<\/p>\n Noa Argamani spoke on the phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog after she was rescued. (Reuters: IDF)<\/p>\n Noa was later transferred to Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv and reunited with Liora, who was receiving treatment for her cancer at the facility.<\/p>\n While Liora’s condition was worsening, she was granted her dying wish \u2014 to see her daughter one last time.<\/p>\n Three weeks later, Liora died.<\/p>\n Holding hope for Avinatan<\/p>\n Noa may have been free, but with her “soulmate” still in captivity, her anguish continued.<\/p>\n Held by Hamas in isolation and starving, Avinatan had no idea his partner had been saved.<\/p>\n And Noa did not know whether he was still alive.<\/p>\n Not discouraged by the continued fighting, she set about leading efforts to see the remaining hostages released.<\/p>\n Her lobbying took her all the way to the US, where she met with US President Donald Trump and addressed Congress.<\/p>\n Noa Argamani met with Donald Trump as she advocated for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. (X: Noa Argamani)<\/p>\n Noa and her father visited the tomb of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in the New York borough of Queens to pray for the hostages’ return.<\/p>\n Yaakov had prayed for her safe return at the tomb in November 2023, when she was still hostage.<\/p>\n In August 2024, Noa and her father travelled to Tokyo to meet with diplomats from G7 countries.<\/p>\n She returned to the US in February to address the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n Time Magazine named Noa as one of the most influential people of 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Noa’s advocacy has illuminated Hamas’ extreme brutality, but more importantly, her bravery has embodied Jewish resilience and strength even in the worst moments,” former second gentleman Doug Emhoff wrote for her Time profile.<\/p>\n “She is living proof to the world that, despite everything, ‘We will dance again.'”<\/p>\n Noa Argamani at a vigil marking the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ terror attack. (Reuters: Annabelle Gordon)<\/p>\n Avinatan was never far from Noa’s mind.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n