‘He (Arnon Zmora) is a hero of Israel; because of him, we are here.’
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Noa Argamani, who the IDF rescued from Gaza on June 8, said her main concern during her captivity in Gaza was the welfare of her parents.
Argamani, whose kidnapping at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th went viral, was reunited with her mother, who is suffering from terminal brain cancer.
Argamani spoke publicly for the first time since her rescue on a video message broadcast at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
She said, “As an only child to my parents and as a child to a mother with a terminal illness, my biggest worry during captivity was for my parents.”
She added, “It’s a great privilege to be here after 246 days in Hamas captivity.”
“It’s a great privilege to be by my mother’s side after eight months of uncertainty. It’s a great privilege to see my parents surrounded by so many good people,” she said.
Argamani thanked the security forces who rescued her along with three other Israeli hostages in Gaza.
“I want to thank our security forces, and our army, the soldiers, reservists, special forces and everyone who took part in the rescue operation and risked their lives so I could return home,” she said.
Argamani continued, “I mourn with the family of Arnon Zmora … My heart is with his family. He is a hero of Israel; because of him, we are here.”
The operation that rescued Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv was renamed “Operation Arnon” after counter-terror police officer Arnon Zmora, who sustained a fatal injury during the rescue and later died from his wounds.
”Although I’m home now, we can’t forget about the hostages who are still in Hamas captivity, and we must do everything possible to bring them back home,” Argamani adds.
Along with the other hostages remaining in captivity is Argamani’s boyfriend, Avinatan Or, who was seen in the viral video being taken away by Hamas terrorists separately from her.
Or’s family is part of the Tikvah Forum, which, unlike the Hostage Family Forum, favors a focus on military strategy rather than negotiating a ceasefire deal to release the hostages.
She ends her address with the words: “May we know how to love and not to hate.”
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