Noa Argamani says Israeli hostages must be brought back before it’s ‘too late’ as cease-fire talks falter
Noa Argamani, an Israeli hostage freed in a special forces raid in June, has said she fell asleep each night in Hamas captivity fearing that it “may be the last night of my life.”
In her most extensive comments since she was rescued alongside three others, Argamani, 26, called Wednesday for other captives to be brought home before it’s “too late.” She was speaking with senior diplomats during a visit to Japan with her father — an appearance that came as the United States failed to achieve a clear breakthrough in cease-fire talks despite a renewed diplomatic push.
Addressing officials from Israel and Group of Seven countries in Tokyo, Argamani described how until the moment she was rescued, she “just did not believe that I’m still surviving,” according to French broadcaster France 24.
“It’s a miracle that I’m here,” said Argamani, whose story became known around the world after her abduction from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, alongside her boyfriend Avinatan Or, was caught on video.
“Avinatan, my boyfriend, is still there, and we need to bring them back before it’s going to be too late,” Argamani said, calling on Israel to bring back the more than 100 hostages believed to remain held by Hamas.
At least a third of those who remain in captivity are believed to be dead, according to Israeli officials.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of hostages held in Gaza, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Argamani did not appear to directly comment on the cease-fire negotiations, which resumed this week but broke up without an agreement on a U.S. proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas.
“We don’t want to lose more people than we already lost,” Argamani said.
Last month, Argamani traveled to the U.S. to attend a speech Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made before Congress, during which she received a standing ovation.
She and three other hostages — Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv — were rescued by Israeli forces in a raid in June that left a trail of death and destruction in its wake, killing more than 274 people, including dozens of children, in the area of the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to local health officials.
The 26-year-old had been freed in time to see her mother, Liora Argamani, who died of brain cancer just three weeks after her daughter’s rescue.
“Against all odds I was privileged to be with you in your last moments, talk with you, laugh with you,” Argamani said at her mother’s funeral in July.
In her comments on Wednesday, Argamani said she has used “mindfulness” and memories of happier times to make it through her period in captivity. “I lost a lot of weight,” she told reporters in Tokyo, according to the AFP. “We drank something like less than a half liter for a day, and there were days that we (were not allowed) to drink at all.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned earlier this week that the latest round of cease-fire negotiations may be the “last opportunity” to end fighting in Gaza and see hostages who remain held in the enclave released, but so far talks have failed to produce a deal.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in the enclave following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks, local officials say. Some 1,200 peopl, were killed and around 250 others taken hostage in the Hamas assault, according to Israeli officials, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict.
