Noa Argamani is finally reunited with mother after Hamas hostage hell

Rescued Israeli hostage Noa Argamani has finally been reunited with her terminally ill mother - more than seven months after being snatched from a music festival by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

Noa, 26, was among four captives rescued by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops during a fearless raid on two Hamas-controlled buildings in the Nuseirat refugee camp earlier on Saturday.

Dramatic footage showed her being loaded into a helicopter wearing a flak jacket and a protective helmet - as three other hostages held in another building were rushed to another waiting chopper following gun battles with their captors.

She was quickly reunited with her father Yakov, with whom she was finally able to celebrate his birthday. But within hours rushed to the Ichilov Medical Centre in Tel Aviv to see her mother, Liora Argamani, who has stage four cancer. 

Noa became known across the world when she was taken hostage by Hamas on the back of a motorcycle at the Supernova music festival on October 7. She will be treated alongside Liora, who had urged Hamas for months to free her daughter.

Israel reportedly planned its 'complex daytime operation' for months - rescuing Noa alongside Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40 after launching the effort at 11am (8am GMT).

But the mission left one officer, father-of-two Arnon Zmora, 36, dead - 'mortally wounded' during the firefight with Hamas terrorists. A Gaza hospital claims scores of Palestinians were killed in related operations in Nuseirat.

Noa Argamani returned to the arms of her father today after 245 days spent in dire captivity in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

Noa, who was taken hostage by Hamas on the back of a motorcycle on October 7, was among four hostages rescued in a dramatic firefight with IDF forces earlier today.

Emotional scenes showed Noa, 26, reunited with her father on his birthday - the first time in more than half a year that they had seen each other since her capture from the Supernova Music Festival.

Video showed Noa reintegrating back into civilian life, pictured hugging her father Yakov - and calling with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express her relief.

Special forces simultaneously raided two Hamas sites in central Gaza's Nuseirat area with one helicopter attending each site. At one location, Noa Argamani was rescued, while Meir Jan, Kozlov, and Ziv were at the second location. 

The helicopter mission to rescue Noa went quickly and easily, but the squad set to retrieve the other three met stiff resistance and descended into a firefight with Hamas terrorists.

It was during the latter rescue mission that officer Arnon Zmora was fatally injured.

The IDF later said the married father of two, 36, had led a battle against Hamas gunmen on October 7 at the Yad Mordechai kibbutz. 

He was part of the squad that broke into one of the Hamas buildings where the hostages were being kept and was fatally injured, it said.  

The Israel police force said in a statement: 'The Israel Police and the Border Police announce with great sorrow and grief the death of the late officer Arnon Zmora... who was mortally wounded in the operation to return the hostages this morning in Gaza'. 

The IDF said: 'Arnon is an Israeli hero, who loved and protected his country. He led the force that rescued the four hostages from the central Gaza Strip and returned them to Israel. The IDF salutes his memory.'

It later said the rescue operation would be retrospectively named 'Operation Arnon' in his honour.

Among the hostages freed during today's operation was Andrey Kozlov, 27, a Russian who moved to Israel in 2022. He had been working as a security guard at the Nova festival when he was kidnapped. 

Almog Meir, 21, tried to flee the festival, but he and a friend only managed to drive a short distance in the friend's car before being forced to stop. He phoned his mother during the attack.

Shlomi Ziv, 40, was part of the security detail at the festival and managed to call his sisters as the attack unfolded, according to an interview with The Times of Israel. He phoned his sisters during the attack, telling them he did not want them to worry.

The operation is understood to have been planned for months. 

The Israeli forces practiced for the operation using models of the two houses where the hostages, referred to as 'diamonds' were being held, according to The Telegraph. 

The two houses, which were 200m apart, were raided simultaneously 'like a surgical operation' to reduce the risk of the hostages being killed in either one, the IDF said. 

It is understood they were being held in locked rooms in apartments containing both families and armed guards.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the 'entire nation salutes you' to his defence chiefs at a press conference after the successful mission.

During the operation, heavy airstrikes were carried out in the area against Hamas sites. 

After the operation, the freed Israelis were sent to the Tel Hashomer Sheba Medical Center for further medical examination, where families of the hostages celebrated their arrival. 

Mr Netanyahu spoke at a news conference at the Sheba Tel HaShomer Hospital in Ramat Gan following the successful mission. 

He thanked his defence chiefs and said: 'The entire nation salutes you and the courageous fighters who today risked their lives in order to save lives.

'Yet again you have proven that Israel does not surrender to terrorism and acts with boundless valor and resourcefulness to return home our hostages.

'We are obligated to do the same in the future. We will not relent until we complete the mission and return all our hostages home, both the living and the deceased.'

The IDF has released images of the Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant approving the operation together with IDF Chief of the General Staff and other generals.

He said it was 'one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations' he has witnessed in over the course of 47 years serving in Israeli defence.

IDF Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: 'We are talking about Al-Nuseirat, in the centre of Gaza, where Hamas in a very cruel and cynical way is holding hostages inside civilian buildings, in apartments in buildings of three to four floors.

'Holding them the way that it will be impossible to reach to without going through civilians of Gaza.

'There are three hostages in one apartment, three male ones, and Noah Algamani in the second apartment.

'There are only around 200 meters between those two buildings. We decided to do the operation on both of them because if we would have chose one only, the risk that in the other one they would kill our hostages is a huge risk.

'They might have been thinking that we are preparing for another raid.

'You have to understand that they're moving the hostages from flat to flat, it happens from week to week.

'We need to be very, very accurate. We gather the intelligence in multiple ways in order to make sure that we are ready for this operation.

'It has a lot of details, like in a puzzle, and we never have all the links, but we need to make sure that we have enough links.

'We were building models of those houses in order to practice. It needs to be like a surgical operation, like a brain operation. Because if one little bit happens before another, you might kill the hostages.

'Why did we choose daylight? Because we understood that in those apartments with those guards, daytime will be the ultimate surprise.

'The tension in the command room was very, very high. General Levi said the approval word, 'Go,' and the forces start going out at 11am. The raid was at around 11.25am.

'The raid started simultaneously in both buildings. It was very, very complex, very, very intense.

'In one building, Noa Argamani's building we surprised them completely, but it was still hard.

'In the other building, where the three male hostages were, we had to fire and crossfire with the guards.

'In the crossfire, the warrior of the squad, the squad commander was facing the terrorists and he died.

'He was injured in the beginning, and he was brought in a severe injury to the hospital, and he died in the hospital. He has a wife and two children, 36 years old, a brave warrior who gave his life bringing home four hostages alive.

'There was a lot of fire. A lot of fire was around us, running terrorists in the street with RPGs.

'They were using the civilians to fire on the Israeli forces when they go out from the operation. So much fire was on our forces, and we needed to fire from the air and on the street.

'We had to put the heli down next to the beach and take out the forces because of the warrior that was wounded.

'We took out the hostages in two helis, the first took Nao Argamani and the second one took the three hostages and the wounded warrior that lost his life in the in the hospital. Very heroic operation.

'We don't forget that we have now 120 hostages. We don't forget that need to do everything.

'We know that we cannot do operations to rescue all of them, because they won't have the conditions that will allow it.

'We used the operational division in the Southern Command that was in this area in order to conduct this operation. They gave a shield to the Special Forces in this operation.

'I saw the picture, the father of Noah Argamani raising up his hands coming to the hospital to take his wife to see her daughter before she dies.

'He's saying: 'The IDF, the IDF brought my daughter back.' When you see the warriors going out with the hostages from the helis to the hospital it gives us a lot of a lot of power, and we are very, very determined.

'We need to bring the hostages back home.'

Hagari said there were 'under 100' Palestinian casualties. He also revealed revealed that previously special units have been ready to raid apartments with other hostages in them 'three or four times' but 'did not execute'.

Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said: 'This is one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations I have witnessed over the course of 47 years serving in Israel's defense establishment. 

'IDF, ISA and Special Forces, as well as the forces who supported [those in the field] have conducted an unprecedented operation - daring in nature, planned brilliantly and executed in an extraordinary fashion. 

'The various security agencies cooperated closely - acting as one single unit.

'Our troops showed so much courage - operating under heavy fire in the most complex (urban environment in Gaza).

'I do not remember having completed operations of this kind - at this intensity and with this level of cooperation and success.

'I would like to commend and thank those leading the IDF, ISA and Yamam (Special Forces). We will do everything possible to return all the hostages home.'

A Hamas official said Israel's freeing of four hostages after nine months was 'a sign of failure not an achievement', according to Reuters. 

The terrorist organisation said dozens of people, including children, were killed and injured in the operation. The Hamas-run health ministry claimed 210 people were killed, including children.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday welcomed the return of the four Israeli hostages rescued alive in Gaza.

Speaking at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macon, Biden said he joined his host in welcoming the return of the hostages and vowed, 'We won't stop working until all the hostages come home and a ceasefire is reached'.

UN secretary-general António Guterres said on X, formerly Twitter, that he had sent messages to the families of Noa Argamani and Shlomi Ziv.

He added: 'I renew my appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and for an end to this war.'

Israelis have reacted with a mixture of joy and anger following the news - happy that some hostages have been freed, but angry at prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ongoing refusal to agree a ceasefire deal that could see the others returned before it is too late.

In Tel Aviv, Israelis hailed Saturday as a 'very emotional day'.

Uriya Bekenstein, 42,told the AFP news agency: 'We have had these hostages in our thoughts for every day for the better part of a year now - to have even a few of them rescued against all odds, it means the world.'

But scores of Israelis also gathered in the city to call for Netanyahu to resign, waving signs that also urged him to agree a ceasefire deal with Hamas. 

More than 30 people were arrested after sitting in a road in protest as Israeli police also used water cannons to disperse those calling for an end to the war.

Netanyahu himself rushed to the hospital to meet the freed hostages. His office released a stream of pictures of him meeting the families of those saved - prompting criticism from those who died before they could be rescued. 

Avi Marciano, father of Noa Marciano, who was murdered in captivity before her body was returned from Gaza, said in comments reported by the Times of Israel: 'I'm looking at Yaakov, the father of Noa Argamani, and can't not be moved. 

'I'm genuinely happy for all the families who got to embrace their loved ones. I'm also jealous.

'This highlights how our ending was bad. When it ends badly, the prime minister doesn't come. He also doesn't call.'

The images of Noa, a Chinese-born Israeli citizen, being kidnapped on the back of a motorcycle became symbolic of the horrors faced by civilians at the festival and across southern Israel when the violence erupted. 

A video of Noa receiving a telephone call from Israeli President Isaac Herzog was distributed by his office. 'I am so happy to be here. Thank you for everything, thank you for this moment,' said a smiling Argamani, sitting with her father in a hospital room.

In another video, speaking on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Noa said, 'I am very moved. I haven't heard Hebrew for so long.'

She was kidnapped along with her boyfriend Avinatan Or from the Supernova festival on the morning of October 7. Her boyfriend is still believed to remain in captivity. 

In a statement, the IDF said: 'The hostages were rescued by the IDF, ISA and 'Yamam' forces from two separate locations in the heart of Nuseirat. 

'They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the 'Sheba' Tel-HaShomer Medical Centre for further medical examinations.

'The security forces will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages home.'

The rare rescue comes eight months into war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on X: 'Noa, Almog, Andrey and Shlomi - we are overjoyed to have you home.'

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', and called on Israel's government to bring home those still being held.

They said in a statement: '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.

'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.'

After Noa was captured in October, she later appeared in a chilling hostage video in January, speaking to camera alongside fellow captives Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38. The two men were later reported to have been killed, with Noa forced to announce their deaths. 

Hamas also published a 'psychological terror' video of what was believed to be the voice of Noa Argamani on May 31.

It sparked outcry from her family and campaigners who have called for the government to bring her and the other hostages in Gaza home. 

The voice identified as Noa can be heard saying: 'I am imprisoned with Al-Qassam Brigades [the armed wing of Hamas].

'I have been in captivity for more than 237 days and do not know till when.

'I say to the people of Israel: Have you become government partners with Netanyahu, Gallant and Gantz? Will my fate together with my colleagues be like Ron Arad's fate?'

Ron Arad was an Israeli airman who bailed out of his plane during a mission over southern Lebanon in 1986 and was taken hostage. Israel has tried to locate him for decades but he is now presumed dead.

The Argamani Family initially released a statement via the Hostages & Missing Families Forum shortly after the video began circulating asking that it not be broadcast.

But soon after, the forum provided the following statement, allowing the publication of the video with the family's approval.

'After assessing the situation and receiving additional information, the Argamani family has approved the use of a video in which Noa Argamani was heard while being held hostage by Hamas,' it said.

'Alongside Noa's voice, drawings are shown, which the family believes to be scribbles that Noa has drawn.'

The forum statement continued, saying, '125 men and women have been held hostage by Hamas for 238 days. The Israeli government must hear the call and act decisively, without the need for any propaganda video from Hamas, to swiftly reach a deal to bring the hostages home!'

Noa's mother Liora Argamani has stage 4 brain cancer and has repeatedly expressed her desire to see her daughter again.

Late last year, the 61-year-old made a last ditch plea to US President Joe Biden begging him for the opportunity to 'hug' her daughter 'one last time' before she dies.

She said: 'I am terminally ill with Stage 4 brain cancer. All that's running through my mind before I part ways with my family forever is the chance to hug my daughter, my only child, one last time

'My daughter Noa is a contagiously happy and resilient young woman.

'She loves to dance, loves music, loves being with her friends and family.'

In March, she made another please to the President, saying in a video message: 'My heart really hurts. On one hand it's physical, it's not working the way it should. One the other hand, because my daughter is a hostage.

'Since the kidnapping, when I see her look in this picture, it chokes me up.

'How beautiful she is, how amazing she is. I want to see [my daughter] one more time. Talk to her one more time,' she pleaded.

'I am asking you President Joe Biden, I don't have a lot of time left in this world. It may be my last wish, I am really begging you.' 

The young woman was among more than 100 people who are believed to still be being held hostage in Gaza. She is one of just 19 women that are still being held by the terror group.

Some of the survivors who have been released from Gaza during the hostage exchange and ceasefire deal in November have described being tortured, sexually assaulted and starved in captivity.