Noa Argamani, who was seen in video footage made by Hamas kidnappers pleading for his life when he was captured from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, has become a symbol of the 136 hostages still in Gaza.
This week, Argamani was featured again in a video made by Hamas. In the recording he begged the Israeli government to stop the war in order to save the lives of the hostages. He describes how he was injured and two other hostages were killed by Israeli airstrikes, and the video ends with photos of the dead hostages.
Israeli officials say the video is unreliable Hamas propaganda, but they are trying to verify whether the hostages were indeed killed by Israeli airstrikes or killed by the Hamas who kidnapped them.
A man holds a sign calling for the release of hostages taken by Hamas militants to the Gaza Strip during a demonstration at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 13, 2024. (Photo: AP)
“Stop this madness and take us home to our families. “While we are still alive, take us home,” said Noa Argamani in the video recording.
Noa Argamani’s mother, Liora Argamani, is suffering from terminal cancer and is pleading with Israeli and world leaders, including American President Joe Biden and the International Red Cross, to help her meet her daughter before she dies. Because Liora is a dual Israeli-Chinese citizen, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even asked the Chinese government to intervene in negotiations with Hamas.
Ofri Bibas Levy, whose brother Yarden (34) is being held hostage along with his wife Shiri (32) and 2 children Kfir (10 months) and Ariel (4), holds a photo of them with his friend Tal Ulus in Geneva, Switzerland, November 13, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)
The families of other young Israeli women held hostage in Gaza fear they will face continued abuse, including sexual abuse, by their captors Hamas. Yarden Goren, the sister of hostage Romi Goren, was horrified by what she heard from the freed female hostages.
“Every minute something can happen. Any minute they can decide to hurt, abuse them – mentally, physically, sexually – and they are helpless. What can they do to combat that, you know? They can’t even refuse because it could cost them their lives,” added Yarden Goren.
In November, Hamas released more than 100 of its 240 hostages, in exchange for a temporary ceasefire and the release of around 240 Palestinian prisoners.
However, now Hamas says that it will only release more hostages in exchange for a total ceasefire. Netanyahu has repeatedly said that Israel remains committed to destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. But some family members of the hostages say the two goals have become incompatible.
“In my kibbutz (farming village) alone, around 10 hostages have been declared dead over the past month. Their bodies are still in the hands of Hamas. We don’t want that to continue. “We want the hostages home by any means necessary,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Saguy, one of the hostages in Gaza.
The only hostage-related agreement that has been reached in the past 50 days was an agreement between Qatar and the International Red Cross to supply medicine to the hostages in the coming days. But family members worry that these measures will not be enough to keep their loved ones alive. (lt/ab)