Noa Argamani, who was rescued from captivity in Gaza in a heroic operation six months ago, participated Tuesday in an emergency discussion at the President's Office about the medical condition of the hostages. She said that in the full video of her taken by the terrorists during her captivity, she can be seen "bruised, bleeding, with my entire head open, and no one came to help me. Not the Red Cross, not doctors, no one."
She referred in the public forum to the condition of the remaining hostages in captivity with great concern. "We don't know what the condition of the 100 hostages who are still there is, and it is possible that their fate will be worse than mine," she said.
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Noa Argamani talks about her experiences as a hostage in Gaza during meeting on hostages' health at President's Office
(Photo: Spokesperson, Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Argamani was joined by freed hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, whose husband Oded is still held captive in Gaza; Daniel Lifshitz, Oded's grandson; Professor Hagai Levine, head of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum health system, and Dr. Einat Yehene, a specialist rehabilitation psychologist from the forums' health system.
Before Argamani's speech, the video from her Hamas captivity was shown. "This is the shorter, censored video, because I wanted to spare you the full video," she said. "What actually happened was that the Air Force missile hit the building that I, Yossi Sharabi, and Itay Svirsky were in. As you know, Yossi did not survive. Two days later, Itay Svirsky was murdered and just this week his body was returned to Israel."
She added: "I was left injured, and you see it in the full video. I'm talking about the fact that I was left there bruised, bleeding, with my whole head open, and no one came to help me. Not the Red Cross, not doctors, no one. When the doctors saw all the injuries when I returned, they said it was a medical miracle."
"I was given the opportunity to be filmed while I was still in Gaza. I don't know how many hostages there are who suffered from the same situations as me, but they didn't have the right, they didn't get to publish a video like mine. In the end, I didn't receive treatment even though there was a video. We don’t know the condition of the 100 hostages still there, and their fate might be worse than mine."
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Noa Argamani embraces Yocheved Lifshitz at the President's Office in Jerusalem
(Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO)
Yocheved Lifshitz recalled how sick she was when she was released in the week-long hostage-for-prisoner exchange. "I was in captivity for 17 days too many," she said. "I returned in a very sick state. I was sick and that was actually the reason they decided to release me because they were afraid I would infect everyone. While I was in captivity, I lost five kilos and my blood pressure dropped to the floor. If I had returned after 50 days, I would have returned in a coffin. What saved me was my contagious disease and the fact that the captors did not want me there."
Grandson Daniel Lipshitz spoke about how difficult it is to wait for the return of hostage relatives: "The situation today is difficult and impossible, for each of the families who are still waiting. 431 days. 431 days of unimaginable suffering, physical and mental. Days of crying. The physical and mental deterioration is evident every day. There is nothing harder than waiting, knowing that you don't know what is happening, that you are all expecting a miracle to happen. And, yet, what gives the strength to continue and hold on is hope. The hope of seeing our loved ones return home for healing and burial," he said.
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"Mr. President, I am addressing you directly," he continued. "We need you now. You are the moral voice of the State of Israel. You have expressed your opinion time and again about the need to stop this pain and return the kidnapped. Now more than ever, a sharp and clear public statement is needed that will say: 'All other things will stand aside, the return of the hostages is the main thing, this is the most important task now. We must use every possible means to ensure that no kidnapped person is left there. They cannot survive there any longer.'"
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The body of Hamas hostage Itay Svirsky was rescued to Israel last week
(Photo: Courtesy)
Levine said the health of the hostages is a serious concern.
"Their health is deteriorating and they may not survive the upcoming winter. They do not have the reserves of the previous winter, they are all fragile and humanitarian cases. Despite all the challenges and threats, hope has not died. I was privileged to accompany Alma Avraham, after months of intensive care she is walking, recovering and getting better. As soon as the hostages reach us, we will know how to treat them, but for that they need to come here. The only cure is the return of all the abductees."
Yehene added that the hostages also are at a high risk of suicide. "They can lose hope that they will be saved," she explained.