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Noa Argamani describes horrors of Hamas captivity, calls survival a ‘miracle’: 'Every night I was falling asleep and…'
Noa Argamani recalled that she was unable to shower more than twice a month, and food and water were scarce.
Rescued Israeli hostage Noa Argamani has opened up about the horrors of Hamas captivity. The 26-year-old was successfully rescued by the IDF in June.
“Every night I was falling asleep and thinking, this may be the last night of my life,” Argamani, who was abducted by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova music festival on October 7, told a room full of G7 embassy representatives in Tokyo on Wednesday, August 21, according to AFP.
Argamani spent as many as eight months in captivity in the Gaza Strip. She recalled that she was unable to shower more than twice a month, and food and water were scarce.
“I lost a lot of weight. We drank something like less than a half liter for a day, and there were days that we [were not allowed] to drink at all,” Argamani said.
A disturbing video Argamani’s abduction went viral after the October 7 attack on Israel. The video showed her screaming for help while being taken away by Hamas terrorists on a motorbike, her arms stretched towards her boyfriend Avinatan Or. Or was also kidnapped, and is reportedly still being held hostage in Gaza.
Argamani has now said that she survived the difficult times while being held captive by focusing on “mindfulness” and memories of better times. “[Things like] scuba diving, everything that I liked to do in my free time before, it really helped me to get to just release, to know that if today I’m okay, I don’t need to worry about the future,” she said.
“And until the moment I was [rescued] … I just did not believe that I’m still surviving,” she added.
‘It’s a miracle that I’m here’
Argamani returned home just in time to reunite with her ailing mother. Liora, her mom, who was battling stage 4 brain cancer, died in July.
Argamani said that her survival in Gaza was a “miracle.” “And in this moment that I’m still sitting with you, it’s a miracle that I’m here. It’s a miracle because I survived October 7, and I survived this bombing, and I survived also the rescue,” she said.
Argamani urged the world leaders to secure the release of the remaining hostages, including Or. “Avinatan, my boyfriend, is still there, and we need to bring them back before it’s going to be too late,” she said.
“We don’t want to lose more people than we already lost,” she added.
Argamani said she believes Or does not know she has been rescued. “I just want to say that he should take care of himself, and I am waiting for him at home and doing as much as I can to bring him home to his family. And to me also,” she said.
