Israeli hostage Noa Argamani who was freed from the clutches of Hamas in a daring IDF raid last week told the families of fellow hostages how they were kept as slaves in Gaza, it has been revealed.
Shira Albag, the mother of IDF soldier Liri who was also abducted and dragged back into Gaza on October 7, today told Israeli media that Noa explained how their Hamas captors forced them to cook and clean and refused to let them bathe.
‘Noa said that they were slaves, and so were the (IDF) observers, Liri among them,’ Albag said. ‘They cleaned their yard, did dishes, and prepared food they couldn’t eat.’
She quipped facetiously that Liri, who remains in the Gaza Strip, was held in a ‘luxury villa’ where they let her shower – but only after a month in captivity.
‘After 40 days, they took her down to the tunnels. It’s much worse. There is only salt water and not much food. No clothes to change into,’ she added.
It comes as an Israeli special forces soldier who embarked on the heroic rescue of Noa revealed her first thoughts were for her terminally ill mother, Liora, despite being held captive without daylight for 245 days.
The special forces operator said Noa’s first words after being saved were: ‘Is my mother still alive?’
After 245 days in captivity, Argamani was rescued on Saturday in an IDF raid that also freed three male captives: Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41. She is seen here hugging her father after they were reunited on Saturday
Noa Argamani, one of the four Israeli hostages rescued from Gaza by the IDF on Saturday, has been pictured embracing the mother of her boyfriend. The 26-year-old was pictured hugging Ditza Or, the mother of Avinatan Or, who is one of several people taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 and into Gaza
Noa Argamani speaks on the phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Saturday
Noa Argamani is pictured being kidnapped and driven across the desert
An Israeli special forces soldier who embarked on the heroic rescue of Noa revealed her first thoughts were for her terminally ill mother, Liora, despite being held captive without daylight for 245 days
Shira Albag (L), the mother of IDF soldier Liri (R) who was also abducted and dragged back into Gaza on October 7, today told Israeli media that Noa explained how their Hamas captors forced them to cook and clean and refused to let them bathe
Members of the Yamam counter-terror unit that specialises in hostage rescue revealed the emotional exchange in their first interview since last week’s rescue, which was published today in Israel.
Elite fighters last week stormed the building where 26-year-old Noa was held and told her: ‘Noa, we’re here to save you. We’re here to bring you home.
‘The first question she asked was, ‘Is my mother still alive?’ he told Israeli army radio channel Galatz.
‘I said yes, she looked at everyone and then she asked, ”Are you sure?” We said, ”Yes, Noa, we’re here to bring you back to your mother”.’
He added: ‘She was very frightened, very scared, but she co-operated. She was barefooted. One of the fighters put her on his back and then put her down on in the car.’
The vehicle then raced for the beach where a helicopter was due to evacuate them, but the car got stuck when a huge firefight erupted.
They managed to fight off the terrorists and get the vehicle moving again before making the rendezvous point in the nick of time.
‘In the car she was still in shock,’ the fighter said. ‘She still didn’t understand what was going on and then she said, ‘I’m still a little scared of the road.’
‘But at least we understood that she was already communicating with us in a good way. One of the fighters also gave her a piece of candy to try and reduce her stress.’
Noa was saved along with 21-year-old Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, all of whom were kidnapped from the Nova Festival on October 7.
Noa Argamani is reunited with her father following the audacious rescue of four Israeli hostages in Operation Arnon
A screen displays a picture of Noa Argamani who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack and, according to the military, rescued by the Israeli forces, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 10, 2024
Argamani was famously seen in a video begging the terrorists not to kill her as she was dragged away on the back of a motorcycle
Unbeknownst to her, Argamani became an icon of the struggle to free the hostages during her time in captivity after the video of her kidnapping went around the world
One soldier from the Israeli rescue unit, Arnon Zmora, was shot in the head and killed rescuing the three men who were held 200 metres from Noa.
Noa has been tending to Liora, 61, who has stage four brain cancer, ever since the incredible rescue.
Throughout her time in captivity, Liora made a series of heart-wrenching appeals to see her daughter prior to her death, and the pair enjoyed an emotional reunion in hospital hours after Noa landed.
Israel first received intelligence of the four hostages’ location in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, on May 12.
A team of undercover operatives were dispatched to smuggle themselves into the area and gather more information, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
A team of undercover soldiers, including women in hijabs, then arrived in the area pretending to be two Gazan families fleeing Israeli bombing.
They pointed to the building where Noa was being held and offered a huge sum of cash to get a house, managing to secure a location on the same street within three hours.
Special forces made up of undercover operatives of Yamam and Shin Bet surround one of two heavily guarded buildings in Al Nuseirat, Gaza
Helmet cam footage showed how the Israeli operators rescued the hostages
Having set up a base just 800 metres from where the hostages were being held, the Israeli operatives fed information back to Israel that allowed Yamam fighters to prepare.
‘We knew it was a girl, a hostage – we didn’t know who exactly it was until a day or two before the operation,’ one of the Yamam fighters said.
On learning Noa’s identity they had to clear their mind of her emotional personal story.
‘I was exposed to the fact that her mother was in hospital in a critical condition,’ another of the unit said. ‘I didn’t know that and it got to me a little.
‘I’m trying to put it aside because my goal is to be focussed on the mission and that nothing will affect my decisions on the ground.’
Noa arrived home on the 69th birthday of her father Yaakov.
She appeared in good physical shape but medics have warned the road to mental recovery is long.