A video showing Noa Argamani, one of the four Israeli hostages rescued by Israel, being reunited with her father has made its way across social media on Saturday.
Israeli authorities announced on Saturday that four Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel have been rescued. On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history, killing some 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. Israel then subsequently launched its heaviest airstrikes against Gaza. About half of the hostages, meanwhile, were freed during a temporary ceasefire in November, which also saw 240 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails. Over 36,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the conflict, according to local health officials.
In a joint statement on Saturday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Security Agency (ISA) and Israeli police said Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, were recovered during a joint operation from two locations in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in Gaza.
The four hostages were taken after Hamas gunmen stormed the Nova open-air music festival near kibbutz Re'im where more than 350 people were killed, according to Israeli authorities.
"They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the 'Sheba' Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for further medical examinations. We will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages home," the IDF wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Newsweek has reached out to the IDF via email for comment.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 8, 2024Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40) were rescued in a special operation by the IDF, ISA and Israel Police from 2 separate locations in the heart of Nuseirat after being kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival.
They are in good… pic.twitter.com/PnkjL4GRQz
Meanwhile in a post on X on Saturday, Aviva Klompas, the former head of speech writing at Israel's mission to the United Nations, (U.N.) shared a video showing Argamani being reunited with her father.
In the video, Argamani can be seen sitting down while speaking and hugging her father who gives her a kiss on the cheek.
Argamani's abduction was widely shared online as the Daily Mail had obtained footage of her abduction where she was kidnapped by Hamas on a motorcycle. She has since appeared in multiple Hamas videos.
The rescue comes just a week after the Palestinian militant group released a video on May 31 featuring Argamani's voice in which she said she'd been a prisoner for 238 days and said: "I appeal to the people of Israel, save us."
It is not known whether she was speaking her own words or had been told what to say by Hamas.
Meanwhile, pleas on social media from Argamani's mother, Liora Argamani, fueled her daughter's rescue as her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and has been vocal about her desire to see her daughter again before time runs out.
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) June 8, 2024Noa Argamani reunited with her father ❤️🩹
Noa was rescued just hours ago after spending 8 months as a hostage in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/FVfcEYHrTh
This follows after the body of an Israeli hostage, Ron Benjamin, was identified in Gaza in late May. IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed that Benjamin's body was recovered on May 17, along with the bodies of three other hostages. According to the IDF, the three previous hostages were identified as Shani Louk, Amit Bouskila, and Yitzhak Gelernter.
Ahead of Saturday's hostage rescue, the IDF believed there are still 132 hostages being held in Gaza—128 of whom were taken on October 7.
Meanwhile, the recovery of other hostages comes as efforts to secure a hostage deal for the release of all the captives have been at a standstill for weeks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has moved forward with plans to launch an invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where over 1 million civilians are sheltering, with or without a ceasefire deal. Although most civilians have fled, Israel has identified Rafah as Hamas' last major stronghold.
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