The mom of rescued Israeli hostage Noa Argamani has died, three weeks after her daughter was freed in a dramatic raid after being held for eight months by Hamas in Gaza.
Liora Argamani, who was born in China, had suffered from mind most cancers. She was 61.
Liora launched a video in December, pleading with Hamas to launch her daughter, saying: “I don’t understand how lengthy I’ve left. I want for the prospect to see my Noa at dwelling.”
Noa was rescued on 8 June, when Israeli commandos raided an apartment where she was being held in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Three different hostages have been rescued from a close-by condominium on the similar time.
A picture of Noa being dragged away in terror on the again of a bike by Hamas gunmen turned one of the broadly recognised footage of Hamas’s assault on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Some 251 individuals – Israelis and overseas nationals – have been taken hostage when Hamas burst via the border within the unprecedented assault during which about 1,200 individuals have been killed.
The assault triggered the struggle between Israel and Hamas. At the very least 37,900 individuals have been killed by Israel’s navy offensive in Gaza, the territory’s Hamas-run well being ministry says.
The Hostages and Lacking Households Discussion board – a collective of relations and associates of individuals taken hostage on 7 October – said it “bows its head” at the news of Liora’s passing.
Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu stated he and his spouse “grieve from the underside of our hearts for the passing of Liora Argamani and share within the household’s grief”.
On Saturday evening, a video message from Noa, during which she spoke publicly for the primary time since her rescue, was performed at a protest in Tel Aviv calling for the discharge of the remaining hostages.
“As an solely youngster to my dad and mom, and a mom affected by a terminal sickness, my largest concern in captivity was for my dad and mom,” she stated.
“It’s an important privilege to be right here after 246 days in Hamas captivity, to be beside my mom after eight months of uncertainty.”
Hamas and allied armed teams are nonetheless believed to be holding 116 hostages, together with Noa’s boyfriend Avinatan Or, who have been taken on 7 October. At the very least 42 are presumed by Israeli authorities to be useless.
The others have been launched, rescued or their our bodies recovered.
4 different Israelis have been held hostage since 2014 and 2015, two of whom are presumed useless.