Noa Argamani
נועה ארגמני
Screenshot of video showing Noa's abduction
Born (1997-10-12) 12 October 1997
NationalityIsraeli
Known forAbduction at the Re'im music festival massacre

On 7 October 2023, 25-year-old Israeli woman Noa Argamani (Hebrew: נועה ארגמני) was abducted by Hamas during the Re'im music festival massacre, part of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. In one of the first Hamas videos released of the massacre, she is seen being abducted by motorcycle as she yells, "Don't kill me!" Her arms are outstretched toward her boyfriend Avinatan Or, who is also being kidnapped.[1][2][3][4] Argamani's abduction was featured on the front-page of the 8 October edition of the UK's Mail on Sunday.[5]

Noa Argamani

Argamani was born in Israel on 12 October 1997 to Yaakov and Liora Argamani,[6] and is their only child.[5] Liora is from the Chinese city of Wuhan. Argamani is a native Israeli; after her abduction it was incorrectly reported that she is a Chinese-Israeli born in Beijing.[7] She is a student at Ben Gurion University.[8]

Kidnapping

External videos
YouTube logo
Video of Noa's abduction
video icon Woman kidnapped by Hamas fighters in front of helpless boyfriend at Israeli festival

On 7 October 2023 as part of the initial incursion of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, Hamas militants crossed from the Gaza Strip into Israel and attacked the Supernova Sukkot Gathering music festival. The festival was an open-air psychedelic trance festival, that took place in the western Negev desert.[9] Argamani was attending the festival with her boyfriend Avinatan Or and was shown in a now viral video along with Or being captured by Hamas militants.[2] Her friend Amit Parparia indicated that they did not want to believe the video depicted Argamani and Or, but could not deny it as "Its just her face, her clothes and it's her boyfriend."[1]

In the video Argamani can be heard screaming, "Don't kill me! No, no, no!" while being forced onto a motorcycle by members of Hamas, and Or being restrained by two other men. Or's brother, Moshe, reportedly learned of the video by emergency teams, and viewed it before allowing for it to be published. Argamani has been seen in other footage that appears to show her sipping water in a room in Gaza.[10][11]

Allegations were raised during a NBC report that Argamani was not abducted by Hamas forces but instead by a supposed mob of Palestinians from Gaza. This theory was posited by anonymous supposed Israeli military officials who stated their reasoning being those filmed abducting Argamani wore no official uniforms and she appeared to have been abducted several hours after the attack.[12]

Media coverage and efforts to release

Noa Argamani at the exhibition of the abductees at the National Library of Israel

News of Noa's abduction and her ties to China have been widely reported by international and Chinese media. Her mother Liora has appealed to the Chinese embassy for help in freeing her daughter.[7] Argamani's father Yaakov reportedly indicated that he did not approve of violence to get his daughter freed, saying: "They also have mothers who are crying. The same as it is for us."[1]

On January 14, 2024, Hamas released a video of Argamani.[13] The video depicted Argamani and two male hostages giving their names and asking for Israel to bring them home. Hamas had indicated it would give more information about the hostages' fate on January 15.[14] The next day, Hamas released a video which showed Argamani claiming that the two male hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 O'Kane, Caitlin (10 October 2023). ""Her name is Noa": Video shows woman being taken by Hamas at Supernova music festival where at least 260 were killed - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Festivalgoers, children, soldiers: What we know about the people captured by Hamas". CNN. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Lajka, Arijeta; Mellen, Riley (8 October 2023). "Video captures concertgoer being kidnapped by militants". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Rebecca. "Noa Argamani's friend says no one can escape videos and firsthand accounts of the Hamas attacks". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 Merlin-Rosenzweig, Orit (11 October 2023). "Noa Argamani's parents sought help from the Chinese embassy". Ynetnews. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Stevenson, Alexandra (12 October 2023). "'We Are Waiting': Family of an Israeli Hostage Marks Her Birthday". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 Zhuang, Sylvie (12 October 2023). "Israel-Hamas war: mother of kidnapped woman says daughter is Israeli, not Chinese". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 November 2023. Reproduced in "Israel-Hamas war: mother of kidnapped woman says daughter is Israeli, not Chinese". Yahoo Finance. 12 October 2023.
  8. ↑ ToI Staff. "Taken captive: Noa Argamani, 26, recorded in one of first Hamas videos". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Israeli music festival: 260 bodies recovered from site where people fled in hail of bullets". BBC News. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Davis, Alys (8 October 2023). "What we know about Israeli hostages taken by Hamas". BBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  11. ↑ Fitzgerald, Madeline (8 October 2023). "Family of Terrified Couple Kidnapped By Hamas Releases Video Showing Moment They Were Taken: 'Don't Kill Me!'". The Messenger. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Noa Argamani was abducted not by Hamas but by civilian mob, NBC report suggests". The Times of Israel. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  13. ↑ Ynet (14 January 2024). "Sign of life from three Israeli hostages in fresh Hamas propaganda clip". Ynetnews. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Three Gaza hostages, including Noa Argamani, show sign of life in video". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  15. ↑ https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-782292
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