- Commandos revealed that Noa’s first instinct was to ask about her mother
- She was rescued along with three other people last week.
- Noa’s face appeared in newspapers around the world on October 7.
Commandos involved in a daring raid to rescue Israeli hostage Noa Argamani have revealed what her first words were upon being saved from the clutches of Hamas.
Israeli troops rescued Noa and three other hostages after 245 days in the besieged Gaza Strip in the largest and most successful operation of the war last week.
Noa was seen being led by her rescuers to a car before being taken out of Gaza by military helicopter and returned safely to a hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Noa Argamani made front pages around the world when she was dragged to Gaza on October 7 and filmed being kidnapped on the back of a motorcycle with her boyfriend while screaming: ‘Don’t kill me!’
Three commandos from Yamam, the national anti-terrorist unit, involved in the rescue revealed that the first thing Noa did when she was rescued was ask for her mother.
Commandos involved in a daring raid to rescue Israeli hostage Noa Argamani have revealed what her first words were upon being saved from the clutches of Hamas
Israeli troops rescued Noa and three other hostages after 245 days in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Noa was seen being led by her rescuers to a car before being taken out of Gaza by military helicopter and returned safely to a hospital in Ramat Gan.
In an interview with the Israeli magazine Walla, one of the commandos, all of whom remained anonymous on camera, said: “The moment we broke into the apartment where Noa was being held, we found three terrorists there and quickly we neutralize them, reaching Noa’s room in seconds.’
‘The first two fighters who arrived told him: “Noa, we came to save you, we came to bring you home.” She was surprised; she didn’t understand or believe what was happening.’
‘One of the combatants carried her on his back. She was barefoot. We wrapped fighters around her and left as quickly as possible after making sure her apartment was clear of terrorists.’
‘At that moment, the air force supported us and we got into a vehicle to leave. I was terrified; I don’t think she believed what was happening before her eyes.
‘His first question was whether his mother was still alive. I told him yes. She looked left and right at us and asked again if we were sure. We said yes, “that’s why we came, to bring you back to your mother.”
A Yamam commando said: “We needed to blow up the gate, get in and rescue Noa because we understood the risk of any delay on the way to the objective.”
Health officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza say more than 37,000 Palestinians have died in the war.
Israel and Hamas are currently weighing the latest ceasefire proposal.
Another Yamam commando told the outlet: “We needed to blow up the gate, get in and rescue Noa because we understood the risk of any delay on the way to the objective.”
Israel and Hamas are currently weighing the latest ceasefire proposal, a plan that was detailed by President Joe Biden in the administration’s most focused diplomatic push to stop the fighting and free hostages taken by the militant group.
While Biden described the proposal as Israeli, Israel has not fully accepted it and Hamas has demanded changes that appear unacceptable to Israel.
Fighting continues unabated and Israel on Sunday announced the names of a total of 11 soldiers killed in recent attacks in Gaza, including one who died from wounds sustained in an attack last week.
That brings to 308 the number of soldiers killed since Israel began its ground invasion of Gaza last year.
Hamas killed 1,200 people during its October 7 attack and took 250 hostages, Israeli authorities say.
Health officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza say more than 37,000 Palestinians have died in the war.
