TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Hours after being rescued after eight months of captivity in Gaza, freed hostage Noah Agamani arrived at a Tel Aviv hospital to visit her terminally ill mother.
Aghamani, 26, was one of the most recognizable faces among the hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Desperately, she reached out to her boyfriend who was traveling with her.
Avinatan Or, Agamani’s boyfriend, remains imprisoned.
Agamani was rescued along with three other hostages during an operation by Israeli special forces at an apartment complex in central Gaza on Saturday.
“I’m happy to be here,” she said in a phone call with the Israeli president after her return home, smiling as she was surrounded by friends and family.
Later, people cheered when she arrived at Souraski Medical Center in Tel Aviv, where her mother Leora was being treated for terminal brain cancer.
Back in October, shortly after her daughter was abducted from a music festival in southern Israel that turned into a killing field, Leora, who uses a wheelchair, was asked in an interview with a local TV station how she imagined their reunion. .
“At least be able to hug her,” Leora replied.
Hospital CEO Ronni Gamzu said her mother’s condition was “complex and difficult.” He said Agamani could
Communicating with her mother, they believe her mother is aware that her daughter has returned home.
“We’ve been trying for the past eight months to keep her in a state where she can communicate,” Gamzu said.
Agamani’s father, Yaakov, first met her after a military helicopter brought her back to Israel.
“It’s my birthday today and I never expected to receive a gift like this,” he said.
According to Israeli statistics, the riots at the Nova Dance Festival resulted in the death of more than 360 people, and another 40 people were taken hostage by Hamas.
Thousands of Israelis held a rally in Hostage Square near Tel Aviv’s central hospital to commemorate the rescue of four hostages and demand the release of more than 115 hostages remaining in Gaza.
