The abduction of Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or
Noa Argamani became a symbol of the monstrous cruelty of Hamas terrorists in the massacre on October 7, after a viral video documented her abduction from the Nova music festival in Re'im, along with her boyfriend Avinatan Or. She has been in captivity in Gaza for 74 days. However, a new report published Tuesday suggests that it is possible that Hamas is not the one who abducted her.
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In the video published on October 7, Noa is seen being forcibly taken on a motorcycle while she screams, and her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, is roughly handled by the terrorists. The video was widely shared, and their images even appeared on the cover of the Daily Mail.
Now, an NBC investigation, based on text messages, phone calls, surveillance photos and even the position of the sun at the time of her abduction, suggests that it is unclear who kidnapped her – and it is possible that she was abducted by a group from Gaza that infiltrated Israel hours after the initial terror attack. "It is possible that Hamas does not hold her, and maybe they don't even know where she is," the report says.
Noa and Avinatan, who hid from Hamas terrorists for hours during the party before the massacre, reported their location and signaled for help, but it did not arrive before they were discovered by Gaza terrorists. In the video from October 7, Noa, who celebrated her 26th birthday in captivity, is seen sitting on a sofa, drinking from a water bottle. That video gave hope to her family and friends that she was alive, but almost two and a half months have passed since then, and Noa is still in captivity.
According to the NBC investigation, in a photo sent at 7:46 a.m., more than an hour after the start of the terror attack, Noa is seen smiling and gesturing the peace sign as she tries to reassure her worried friends. The photo was sent by another attendee of the Nova festival, Ori Tchernichovsky, who was murdered shortly afterward, one of over 350 victims of the Nova massacre, a tragic chapter in Israel's history.
An Israeli security official told NBC that none of the abductors in Noa and Avinatan's video appear to be armed or wearing tactical gear, suggesting that they may not belong to Hamas. One of them also appears particularly young. Taking all of this into account, along with other reasons, NBC has assessed that it's possible Noa was not abducted by the terror group.