An Israeli woman who was taken hostage and rescued from Gaza says she wishes people could “learn to love and not hate”.
Speaking publicly for the first time since her rescue, Noa Argamani said 120 hostages remain in “Hamas captivity” – including her boyfriend Avinatan Or.
Video of her being kidnapped was widely shared after she was taken from the Nova music festival on 7 October by two men on a motorbike.
She and Mr Or were “separated at the moment of abduction”, she said in a video recorded for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The 26-year-old was one of four people retrieved from two houses in the al Nuseirat refugee camp on 8 June.
Israeli forces came “under fire” in a “complex mission in daylight”, the Israel Defence Forces said.
In the video, Ms Argamani said she wanted to “remind everyone that there are still 120 hostages in Hamas captivity”.
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She added: “Among them is Avinatan Or, my partner, from whom I was separated at the moment of abduction.
“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.”
Ms Argamani thanked the “security forces and our army, the soldiers, reservists, special forces, and everyone who took part in the rescue operation”.
They “risked their lives so that I could return home”, she said.
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Arnon Zamora, an officer in an elite police commando unit, died after being wounded in the operation.
Mr Zamora is a “hero of Israel”, Ms Argamani said, adding: “My heart is with his family. Because of him, we are here.”
Ms Argamani said she wished for “all of us to have more peaceful days, to be surrounded by family, friends, and good people”.
She added: “Most importantly, may we learn to love and not hate.”
More than 200 Palestinians were killed in the area of the refugee camp during the rescue operation, while 400 were injured, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said.
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