JERUSALEM.- The history of Noa Argamani, the young Israeli kidnapped by the terrorist group Hamas in the middle of a festival, toured the world. Her face of desperation and fear on her that day when she attended the Nova musical event and she was captured by jihadists, with pleas not to kill her while they took her away on a motorcycle, they return to the scene but because 245 days later the 25-year-old woman was freed by Israeli troops. This Saturday the video that transcends borders is another: that of the reunion with his father.
Both Argamani and three other men –Almog Meir Jan21 years old; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv40-, who had been in the hands of the extremist group since October 7 of last year, were found by agents from their country in a daytime operation in Nuseirat, under fire, in the heart of a residential neighborhood in the Palestinian enclave, where Hamas had hidden hostages among civilians.
Once back in his country, the moment in which Argamani meets his father was recorded, both in videos and in photos. In one of her recordings, the young woman is seen sitting in what appears to be a military vehicle, visibly moved, and her father kneeling in front of her. He gives her a kiss and they hug, after eight months and one day of not seeing each other.
A student at Ben Gurion University, Argamani was kidnapped in the middle of the attack at the festival and during her captivity images were published on social networks showing her drinking water from a bottle. Her partner, Avinatan Or, a 30-year-old engineer, remains kidnapped. Before her release, Argamani’s mother, who is Chinese-Israeli and suffers from terminal brain cancer, posted several messages to express her concern. despair at the possibility of dying without seeing her daughter again. Now they can meet again.
Andrey Kozlov
Kozlova Russian-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped while working as security guard at the Nova festival. After the Hamas attack began, he contacted his father and his friends and told them that there was nowhere to hide.
His family was informed after weeks that Kozlov – who was born in Saint Petersburg and emigrated to Israel, where he lived in Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv – was part of the hostages captured by the terrorists.
Shlomi Ziv
Ziv, what cHe spent 41 years in captivity, He was also part of the security team at the Nova festival, according to the Israeli press.
The man managed to speak with one of his sisters on the day of the attack and told her that he was fine, that he was trying to escape in a vehicle, but that there was a traffic jam in the exit area of the party. A little later, in his last call before being kidnapped, he spoke with another of his sisters, who reported that the man was almost out of breath and told him: “I’ll call you soon.”
Ziv lives with his wife in the town of Elkosh, on the border with Lebanon, and usually worked as a wholesale distributor. At the party he was an employee along with two friends, who died in the attack. He had recently graduated as an interior designer.
Almog Meir Jan
Meir Jan is originally from Or Yehuda, a town east of Tel Aviv, and was enjoying the party when Hamas commandos stormed southern Israel. At that point he called his mother, Orit Meir, and told her: “Mom, there are rockets falling everywhere. I do not know what’s happening. I love you”.
Shortly after the attack, Hamas released a video in which Meir recognized her son. ”He was lying on the ground. He was terrified,” described the woman, who in November told the press that her life had become a “nightmare.”
Israeli forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas since October in Gaza this Saturday, while, according to the jihadist group, more than 200 people were killed in airstrikes in the same area. It is not immediately clear whether the hostage rescue and the Israeli airstrike were part of the same operation, but both took place. in the center of Gaza, in Al Nuseirat, an area densely built up and often besieged in the eight-month war.
An Israeli military spokesman reported that The rescue operation took place under fire in the heart of a residential neighborhood, where he said the group had been hiding captives among Gaza civilians guarded by armed militants.
Israeli forces returned fire, including with airstrikes, spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari added. An Israeli special forces commander was killed during the operation, according to a police statement.
The Hamas attack in October killed about 1,200 people. After eight months of war in Gaza, 116 of the approximately 250 hostages kidnapped by the militants remain in the Palestinian enclave, according to Israeli counts. At least 40 of whom have already been declared dead by authorities.
Agencies AFP, Reuters and AP
