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Who is Noa Argamani? The face of the hostages held in Gaza after Oct. 7

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Who is Noa Argamani? The face of the hostages held in Gaza after Oct. 7

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WASHINGTON – Among the four hostages rescued from Gaza on Saturday was 26 year old Noa Argamani, who became one of the most prominent faces of the many hostages held in Hamas captivity after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

Argamani, along with Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were abducted from the Nova music festival in Southern Israel during the attack. The video of Argamani’s kidnapping went viral on social media and made her the face of the hundreds of hostages taken following the attack. Israeli authorities estimate 116 hostages remain in Gaza and 40 of those are believed to be dead. 

Argamani could be seen in the video being driven away on the back of a motorcycle, screaming and reaching out to her boyfriend, Avinantan Or, 30, who is also believed to be among the hostages in Gaza.

“Today, Israeli security forces conducted a successful operation to rescue four hostages from the grips of Hamas in Gaza. All four were taken from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, and Hamas filmed the horrific abduction of Ms. Argamani for the world to see,” U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “Now they are safe and reunited with their families.”

The music festival was one of several targets for Hamas when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The festival soon became the site of one of the largest civilian massacres in Israel, where at least 260 attendees were killed and dozens were kidnapped into Gaza. 

President Joe Biden announced a proposed cease-fire deal last week that would release the remaining hostages in Gaza through a three phased plan, but the fate of that deal is uncertain as Israel has offered mixed signals on the proposal and Hamas says the deal sent to them by mediators does not exactly resemble what Biden announced.

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