Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Rescued hostage Noa Argamani spoke to the UN Security Council on Wednesday evening, becoming the first Gaza hostage to survive captivity to speak to the council since the outbreak of the wa. In her remarks, she called on the international community to act more vigorously to free the 63 hostages who remain held in captivity in Gaza, and she also described some of the horrors she herself endured in captivity, until she was rescued in Operation Arnon last year.
Argamani demanded that all stages of the cease-fire and hostage release deal be implemented, and warned that the hostages, including her partner Avinatan Or, have no more time left. "Until Avinatan returns, my heart is in captivity," she said.
"My name is Noa Argamani. I was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7 from the Nova Festival along with my boyfriend, Avinatan Or. We were taken to Gaza by force, separated, and entered hell on earth. I held Avinatan's hand as long as I could, but in one moment of terror – we were torn apart from each other and dragged into the unknown."
"After eight months in captivity, I was rescued by the Israeli soldiers. Being here today is a miracle, but I’m here today to tell you we have no time. As I speak, there are still 63 hostages living in a nightmare, including my partner Avinatan," Argamani said in her opening remarks.
live
Noa Argamani addresses the UN Security Council
(Photo: UN Web TV)
“Our lives cannot go [on] without them. That's why I need to make sure the world knows this,” she tells the council. “The deal must go on in its entirety, in all its stages. My partner and many other hostages are only supposed to be released in the second stage of the deal. We are talking about innocent people who were taken from their beds, from a music festival, from their simple lives – to a hellish hell," she added.
She referred in her remarks to the shocking murder of Shiri Bibs and her children Ariel and Kfir, whose bodies were returned last week as part of the deal and will be laid to rest tomorrow.
"You don't need me to tell you about a 9-month-old baby, Kfir, and his 4-year-old brother, Ariel Bibas, and their mother Shiri. A mother and her infants who were brutally murdered in captivity. They didn't die in battle. They weren't soldiers. They were tender children, whose blood was spilled with unimaginable brutality. This crime is unspeakable, we can't imagine it, but it happened. And that's why we can't leave anyone there. This is Hamas – an organization that crushes babies with its hands and celebrates death.
"I know what it feels like to be left behind, to see other hostages being released. Every moment feels like the last moment of their lives, every second counts. When I was in Gaza, I was held with two little girls, Hila Rotem and Emily Hand. Emily was 8 years old at the time and Hila was 12. I had to be brave, not only for myself but also for the girls. I had to act as if everything would be okay, which is why I told them, 'As long as we are here, together, alive in this room – nothing else matters.'"
She said: "I told them to ignore all the booms, the gunshots and everything else around us. Hila and Emily were both released in the first deal after 50 days. I saw them and two other women who were with me in captivity return home to their families while I stayed behind. I was not part of any category that I could be released under. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of being left behind, but I can say – this is exactly what the kidnapped feel today. Abandoned by the world."
She also described the bombing of the building where she was later held along with hostages Itay Svirsky and Yossi Sharabi. "After 54 days in captivity, only I, Itay Svirsky and Yossi Sharabi were left. Both were kidnapped from their homes in Kibbutz Be'eri. We were in a war zone 24/7. It was horrific, every day, every second. One evening, the house where we were being held was bombed, and we found ourselves buried under the rubble. Itay managed to get up, but Yossi and I were trapped beneath piles of concrete. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I was drawn into darkness and thought this was it, these were the last seconds of my life. I screamed with all my might for someone to hear me, and I also heard Yossi's screams. Screams of pain, of pleading, of a person trapped between life and death. And then, after a few seconds, I heard only silence. Yossi died next to me, alone, helpless."
"I pulled myself out of the rubble and tried to help Yossi, but it was too late. Yossi was a close friend of mine, he was a pure soul and will remain in my heart forever. Itay and I were forced to look for another place to hide, so one of our captors took us to another house, but two days later Itay was murdered by the same captor. Itay was with me from the first day in captivity, we told each other everything, he was my soulmate. May their memory be a blessing."
live
The moment of Noa Argamani's rescue
(Video: IDF)
live
Inside the helicopter: Noa Argamani rescued from the Gaza Strip
(Video: IDF)
"Hamas released a video of me describing what happened to Itai and Yossi and that I was injured and needed medical help, but of course I received nothing: no doctors, no Red Cross, nothing. From that moment on, I was alone with five terrorists holding me in the same house. You have to understand – every second in captivity is very dangerous. I didn’t think I would survive. That’s why it’s absolutely critical that we put an end to this terrible tragedy. Without immediate action, many more innocent lives will end – including my partner Avinatan. Until Avinatan returns, my heart is in captivity."
At the end of her speech, she told the ambassadors of the Security Council member states: "I came to speak to you to say - don't let the darkness win! Work to bring everyone home now, work for the light and against the darkness. I came to speak to the Security Council today because I believe that all of you, the international community, must understand that the kidnapped are in hell. And after losing so many friends, I can say that they deserve to come home now. What kept me alive in captivity until this moment was something my mother used to tell me - always be nice to others. So in this forum, let me finish with this - be kind to each other, and please return everyone, bring them home now."
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
Argamani was kidnapped from the Nova party on October 7, and in footage that shocked the world at the time, she is seen forcibly separated from her partner Avinatan Or – who is still being held captive. In recent months, she has been working to return the hostages at various international events, and most recently attended an event in Miami commemorating the Nova party massacre , alongside President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, who initiated bringing Argamani to the Security Council, said: "We thank Noa for being here today, but she would not have been here today if the international community and this Council had acted against Hamas instead of looking the other way and remaining silent. The world must understand: Our hostages are living in hell on earth. They have no hope without action. It is time to make a decision to unequivocally condemn Hamas. They must return home now and we will return them home."
Danon added: "Through the story of Noa, the Bibas family and many others, the world has been exposed to the depth of Hamas' inhumanity. It is time to recognize that Hamas has no place in Gaza's future. It is time to put an end to the games. Hamas does not deserve to be a party to any negotiations. The world must act decisively, allow the return of the kidnapped and ensure that this terrorist apparatus is wiped out once and for all."
"For months, Hamas has psychologically tortured families, played with them, and kept them in cruel uncertainty," Danon said. "There is no other place in the world where parents go to sleep without knowing whether their children are alive or dead and the international community stands by. It is time to finally make a decision to unequivocally condemn Hamas. This should have happened 16 months ago, but better late than never. After Noa's testimony, I am not sure how anyone in this room can oppose such a decision."