The woman who was seen screaming for her life as she was driven toward Gaza on the back of a motorbike on October 7 was likely kidnapped by Palestinian civilians who trailed Hamas. The world watched in horror as video surfaced of Noa Argamani, 26, on a motorcycle, with fear marked on her face as she cried, "Don't kill me," to the men surrounding her.
Noa may not have been kidnapped by Hamas but rather by a mob of Gaza civilians. An investigation by NBC, published on Tuesday, explored the potential location of Noa after she was not released during a week-long truce deal between Israel and Hamas in November.
Civilians Kidnapped Noa Argamani
Video emerged on social media on October 7 that showed a motorcycle racing toward Gaza, while a desperate Noa extended her arms toward her boyfriend, Avi Nathan, who was also taken hostage at the Nova music festival. Both Noa and her boyfriend have been missing since then.
For more than two months, Noa's family has anxiously awaited news, hoping that their beloved daughter survived the Hamas attack and might be included among the hostages released in recent prisoner exchanges.
Their anguish has been compounded by the revelation that Noa may have been abducted not by Hamas but by a group of Palestinian civilians who entered Israel hours after the initial terrorist attack.
Analysis of text messages, phone records, satellite images, and interviews suggests that Noa was taken on a motorcycle by Palestinian civilians who had followed Hamas terrorists into Israel, as reported by NBC News.
This circumstance may explain why Noa has not been released alongside more than 100 female and child hostages during the recent ceasefire – Hamas might not be aware of her location if she is being held by civilians.
Noa and Avi, along with hundreds of other young Israelis, were attending a peace festival in the desert when they had to escape from Hamas terrorists.
At 8:10 am, Noa desperately messaged her friend, saying that she was in a parking lot and couldn't leave. In response, her friend advised her to hide and inform them once everything was okay. Over two hours later, she updated her friend, stating, "We don't have a car."
Family Still Hopeful
Following that communication, no further messages were received from Noa by her friends and family. Subsequently, footage emerged showing the festivalgoer screaming as she was transported to Gaza on the back of a motorcycle.
For months, both her family and the world believed that Noa had been abducted to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
However, the analysis of the sun and shadows in the video of Noa's capture suggests that she and her boyfriend were kidnapped several hours into the attack. This challenges the initial belief that they had been taken to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
This supports the hypothesis that the couple might have been taken into Gaza by Palestinian civilians who entered Israel several hours after the initial dawn attack began.
The family and friends of Noa are desperately hoping for her safe return, particularly given the challenging circumstances, including her mother Liora Argamani's ongoing battle with stage four brain cancer.
They harbored some optimism about Noa's survival after seeing a video posted on October 7. The footage showed Noa sitting on a sofa, drinking from a water bottle, with two people barefooted walking behind her.
"When you see someone you love so much and a person that is so close to you in this situation, you just get crazy,' Noa's university roommate Amir Moadi, 29, said. 'Because there's nothing you can do."
Last month, Noa's mother, Liora, pleaded with President Joe Biden and the Red Cross to intervene and facilitate the return of her daughter before her own death. In an emotional message to her only child, she said, "If I don't get to see you... please know I love you very much."
"I have cancer, brain cancer," Liora revealed from the family's temporary apartment in Tel Aviv, situated near her cancer treatment clinic.
"I don't know how long I have left. I wish for the chance to see my Noa, at home. I call upon President Biden and the Red Cross to bring back my Noa as soon as possible so that I get the chance to see her.
"Noa, if I don't get to see you... please know that I love you very much. Please know that we did everything we could to get you released. The whole world loves you."
Liora is facing a challenging battle with stage 4 brain cancer, and her husband, Yakov, mentions that doctors hold little hope for her condition.
