Mother of freed hostage Noa Argamani dies of brain cancer after spending her final days with her daughter, who she feared she would not live long enough to see again
The mother of rescued Israeli hostage Noa Argamani has died of brain cancer after spending her last days with her daughter.
Liora Argamani’s death comes more than three weeks after Noa was freed from Hamas captivity and brought home by Israeli special forces.
Noa’s fate made headlines around the world after the 26-year-old was kidnapped from the Nova festival on October 7. Disturbing footage showed her being taken away by terrorists on the back of a motorbike to Gaza.
Her mother, 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.
After finally being reunited with her 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 today.
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.
Noa Argamani, then 25, was seen kidnapped on the back of a motorbike during the horrific October 7 attacks
Noa was able to celebrate her father Yakov’s birthday after spending more than seven months in Hamas captivity
“We pass on the family’s request to respect their privacy during this difficult time,” Tel Aviv’s Icholov Hospital said in the statement.
On June 8, Israeli forces freed Noa and three other hostages after 245 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 for her mother.
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.”‘
Emotional scenes showed Noa being reunited with her father Yakov on her birthday, the first time they had seen each other in more than half a year since her capture.
Noa laughs as she drinks a Coca-Cola with her father Yakov after they were reunited last month
A video circulated on social media allegedly showing Noa in captivity in Gaza
Liora Argamani, Noa’s mother, had contacted US President Joe Biden and urged him to help save her daughter (photo in November 2023)
She was photographed hugging her father and returning to civilian life, enjoying a Coke and laughing as she talked to friends and loved ones.
Within hours, she was taken to the Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv to see her mother. Reports at the time suggested the pair would be treated together at the hospital.
After their reunion, doctors said Liora “believed that Liora understood” that her daughter was safe, but she could not express her feelings.
Noa’s father, Yaakov, described the reunion this way: ‘Unfortunately, her mother is in a very difficult condition. They met, but it was very difficult.’
This past weekend, a much healthier Noa spoke in a video shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
This is the moment Noa Argamani, who was kidnapped by Hamas motorcyclists on October 7, was reunited with her father
In the moving two-minute video shown on a large screen in central Tel Aviv, Noa shared her deep concern for her parents during her eight months in captivity.
“As the only child of my parents – and the daughter of a mother with a terminal illness – my greatest concern in captivity was the fate of my parents,” she said.
‘It is a great privilege to be here after 246 days in Hamas captivity. It is a great privilege to be at my mother’s side after 8 months of uncertainty.
“It is a great privilege to see my parents, surrounded by so many good people.”
She also called for “everything possible” to be done to free those still trapped in Gaza, including her boyfriend.
Noa Argamani spoke in a video released Saturday after her rescue from Hamas on June 8
“I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that there are still 120 hostages in Hamas captivity. Among them is Avinatan Or, my partner, from whom I was separated at the time of kidnapping.”
On October 7, Hamas launched a bloody raid into southern Israel, killing some 1,170 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
The group justifies the attack by saying it is in response to what it calls Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.
Horrific footage showed Hamas and other factions storming cities and a music festival in Israel with Kalashnikov-style assault rifles.
In the months that followed, Israel has rained airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip, displacing the vast majority of the population.
About 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled. Severe hunger is widespread, with UN officials reporting that parts of the territory are facing famine.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, nearly 38,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks. The ministry makes no distinction between civilians and fighters in its count.
Israel has stated that the aim of the war is to return the hostages and destroy Hamas once and for all.
Israel has been criticized by allies over civilian casualties and the failure to take hostages after nearly nine months of fighting.