Rescued Israeli hostage says she thought every night in captivity might be her last

Bodies of Israeli hostages found as Blinken ends trip to Middle East

A young Israeli woman who became emblematic of the hostages seized by Hamas on October 7 said Wednesday she thought every night in captivity could be her last.

"Every night I was falling asleep and thinking, 'This may be the last night of my life,'" Noa Argamani said in Japan on a visit with her father.

"And until the moment I was (rescued) ... I just did not believe that I'm still surviving," the 26-year-old said as she met with senior diplomats from G7 countries in Tokyo. "And in this moment that I'm still sitting with you, it's a miracle that I'm here."

Israeli Noa Argamani, who was abducted with others from the Nova music festival during Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered war, attends a meeting with G7 embassy representatives during a visit to Tokyo on August 21, 2024. Argamani was rescued along with three others in early June after special forces fought gun battles with Palestinian militants in central Gaza's crowded Nuseirat refugee camp area. RICHARD A. BROOKS / AFP via Getty Images

Argamani was among those kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival during the Islamists' October 7 attacks that sparked war with Israel.

A video that went viral showed her on the back of a motorbike screaming: "Don't kill me!"

The video showed her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, an engineer, being led away separately.

Israeli special forces freed Argamani in a raid on Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp on June 8 along with three others -- Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41.

Noa Argamani is among four Israeli hostages that were rescued by Israeli forces from Gaza on Saturday, June 8 2024. IDF Handout

The Israeli military said Tuesday that it had retrieved the bodies of six hostages from tunnels in southern Gaza, at least some of whom the military said were killed in Israeli military operations.

Of the roughly 250 people taken hostage that day, at least 100 are believed still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 the military says are dead.

"Avinatan, my boyfriend, is still there, and we need to bring them back before it's going to be too late. We don't want to lose more people than we already lost," said Argamani. 

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