Israeli hostage Noa Argamani was held captive in an apparent child’s bedroom at a home in Gaza, it has emerged.
Argamani, 26, was abducted from the Supernova music festival when Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel.
She was one of the most widely recognised hostages after being taken, with video of her abduction showing her seated between two men on a motorcycle as she screamed, ‘Don’t kill me!’
Argamani, along with Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, was rescued on Saturday after Israeli forces raided two locations at once while under fire. The hostages were taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv and reunited with their families.
A photograph made public since she was freed from captivity shows that the 26-year-old was held in what appears to be a family’s home.
The Israeli military said the four hostages, who were in ‘good medical condition’, were rescued from two apartments in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
An image of the room where Argamani was allegedly kept revealed that she may have had access to a single bed.
The bed, situated near a window, was outfitted with a patchwork quilt, pillow and what two stuffed animals, suggesting that it may have once been a child’s bedroom.
What appeared to be a rucksack and possibly art supplies were stored inside a built-in wardrobe in the room.
A laundry basket, crumbled papers and broken tiles seemingly littered the floor.
Argamani 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.
The images of Argamani, 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.
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 Argamani forced to announce their deaths.
She was rescued on Saturday, along with the three other hostages, in an operation by Israeli special forces.
A video of Argamani 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, Argamani said, ‘I am very moved. I haven’t heard Hebrew for so long.’
Netanyahu in a statement vowed to continue the fighting until all hostages are freed. The operation was ‘daring in nature, planned brilliantly, and executed in an extraordinary fashion,’ Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
Argamani’s father, Yaakov Argamani, first met her after a military helicopter carried her back to a hospital in Tel Aviv.
‘Today is my birthday, and a gift like this I never believed I would get,’ he said.
Her mother, Liora, who has late-stage brain cancer, had previously released a video pleading to see her daughter. Israel’s Channel 13 said Ms Argamani was taken to the hospital where her mother is being treated.
Yaakov told Army Radio the reunion with her mother ‘very difficult’ as Liora was ‘just unable to express her feelings and could not say what she was really waiting to say to Noa.’
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the hostages were being held in two apartments, about 200 metres from each other, in the heart of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
He said the forces had trained repeatedly on a model of the apartment buildings.
Hagari said the forces moved in simultaneously in broad daylight on both apartments, believing this ensured the best element of surprise.
But he said the rescuers came under heavy fire as they moved out, including from gunmen firing rocket-propelled grenades from within the neighbourhood.
He said the military responded with heavy force, including from aircraft, to extract the rescuers and freed hostages.
Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz lashed out at critics of the operation, saying ‘only Israel’s enemies complained about the casualties of Hamas terrorists and their accomplices’.
Of the 250 hostages abducted on October 7, about half were released in a week-long ceasefire in November.
About 120 hostages remain, with 43 pronounced dead. Survivors include about 15 women, two children under five and two men in their 80s.
Saturday’s operation brought the total number of rescued hostages to seven, including one who was freed shortly after the October attack. Israeli troops have recovered the bodies of at least 16 others, according to the government.
The latest rescue lifted some spirits in Israel as divisions deepen over the best way to bring hostages home.
Many Israelis have urged Netanyahu to embrace a ceasefire deal US President Joe Biden announced last month, but far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does.
Netanyahu, whose support has fallen, rushed to greet the freed hostages on Saturday and his office released a stream of photos and videos of him meeting the families.
But thousands of Israelis again gathered on Saturday evening for the latest anti-government demonstration and calls for a ceasefire agreement.