Dancing again after 246 days in Hamas hell: Freed Israeli hostage Noa Argamani holds rave to ‘celebrate life’ while paying tribute to partner still held in Gaza

Freed Israeli hostage Noa Argamani has held a rave to “celebrate life” and pay tribute to her partner who is still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Footage shows Noa dancing in a yellow bikini at a party in Israel on Friday. The 26-year-old tells her friends and family: ‘I’m happy to celebrate life with all of you.’

But Noa, who was held captive for 246 days before being rescued by Israeli forces on June 8, also admitted that while she was hosting a party, hostages were still being held by Hamas – including her partner, Avinatan Or.

“It is not ideal that we are celebrating this holiday while there is still war in the background,” she told attendees at the “Dance with Noa” party, adding that “we have to appreciate every day in this life, we have to celebrate every moment that we are here.”

Noa made global headlines last October when she was filmed being dragged on the back of a motorbike into Gaza during the Hamas invasion of Israel.

“It’s not ideal that we’re celebrating this holiday while there’s still war going on in the background,” she told attendees at the ‘Dance with Noa’ party, before adding that “we have to appreciate every day in this life, we have to celebrate every moment that we’re here.” (Pictured: Noa with a friend at the party)

Noa became the face of the attack on October 7, after a dramatic front page in the Mail on Sunday captured the final seconds of her reaching for Avinatan and shouting at her captors: ‘Don’t kill me!’

But Noa, who was held captive for 246 days before being rescued by Israeli forces on June 8, also admitted that while she was throwing a party, hostages were still being held by Hamas – including her partner, Avinatan Or (pictured with Noa before the attack on October 7)

Noa said she organized the party to celebrate her “return to life” after being imprisoned by Hamas for nine months.

She became the face of the attack on October 7 after a dramatic front page in the Mail on Sunday captured the final seconds of her reaching for Avinatan and shouting at her captors: “Don’t kill me!”

Her mother, Liora, who had stage four cancer, feared she would not live long enough to see her daughter again. She begged Hamas to release her and the Israeli and American governments to bring her home.

Noa’s father Yaakov, who also attended Friday’s celebration, said he and his family, including Liora, had “really been waiting” for Noa until “God would grant our wish.”

After finally being reunited with her daughter in June, Liora “spent her last days with her daughter Noa, who returned from captivity, and her immediate family,” the hospital where she was being treated said in a statement after her death was announced.

Last week Noa spoke for the first time about her experiences in captivity, when she met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.

She said: ‘It’s a miracle that I’m here. Every night I went to sleep thinking this could be my last night alive.

Noa sits on the shoulders of a friend while dancing with her father Yaakov, who is also leaning on someone’s shoulders

Noa said she threw the party to celebrate her “return to life” after spending 246 days in Hamas captivity

Her mother Liora (right), who had stage four cancer, feared she would not live long enough to see her daughter again and begged Hamas to release her and the Israeli and US governments to bring her home.

Her father Yaakov, who was also at the party on Friday, said he and his family, including Liora, had “really waited” for Noa until “God would grant our wish” (pictured: Yaakov and Noa embrace after she was rescued)

My head was cut off and I was [hurt] all over my body. Nobody came to see me. Nobody came to visit me. Nobody came to give me medicine. Nobody, until I was rescued. It’s a war zone.’

She increasingly called for the release of her friend Avinatan and the other hostages, saying ‘we must bring them back before it is too late’.

Earlier this month, Noa revealed how she ‘fought until the very last moment’ to stay ‘side by side’ with the love of her life that day.

“I still can’t believe that I’m here and that you, my beloved, are still here, living every day in endless fear,” she said.

On June 8, Israeli forces freed Noa and three other hostages after 246 days in the Gaza Strip, the largest and most successful rescue operation of the war.

Noa was led to a car by her rescuers before being pulled out of Gaza in a military helicopter and safely returned to a hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel.

Three commandos from Yamam, Israel’s national counterterrorism unit, who were involved in the rescue operation, said the first thing Noa did when she was rescued was ask about her mother.

Noa Argamani, a rescued hostage, hugs her father, Yakov Argamani, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on June 8, 2024

Noa listens to Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen (R) speaking during a meeting with representatives of the G7 embassy during a visit to Tokyo on August 21

In an interview with the Israeli magazine Walla, one of the commandos said: ‘Her first question was whether her mother was still alive. I said yes.

“She looked at us from left to right and asked us again if we were sure. We said yes, ‘that’s why we came, to take you back to your mother.'”

Despite the unimaginable trauma she endured from 246 days of captivity before losing her mother to brain cancer last month, Noa is fighting with all her might for the release of Avinatan and the other hostages.

She recently traveled to Washington DC with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pressure politicians to work toward an agreement.