Gaza war: Noa Argamani and other rescued hostages' fateful encounter with Hamas on Oct 7

Israeli military on Saturday (June 8) rescued four hostages, including Noa Argamani, during a complex daytime raid in two separate locations in central Gaza. Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv were also rescued as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Israel does not surrender to terrorism".

In a statement, Netanyahu said that security forces "have proven that Israel does not surrender to terrorism and acts with creativity and courage that knows no limits to bring home our hostages".

Ever since the war started after Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel last year on October 7 and took some hostages, Argamani became the face of all hostages. Her harrowing video of abduction was seen around the world in which she was heard screaming, "Don't kill me!"

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Netanyahu spoke to Argamani on the phone as he welcomed her "home". She told him, "I am very excited. I didn't hear Hebrew for such a long time."

Netanyahu replied, "Now it's also Hebrew and also at home, and it's important, and we didn’t give up on you for one second. I don't know if you believed in it but we believed in it, and I am happy it came true."

Profiles of all four hostages who were freed

Noa Argamani (26)

A video of Argamani being taken away by Hamas fighters in a motorcycle from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7 last year went viral, angering the world. It showed her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, an engineer, being led away separately on foot.

Argamani is a student at Ben-Gurion University in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. A group of her friends said on social media that she "loves life".

Her Chinese-Israeli mother has brain cancer and in a public video spoke of her despair at the possibility she may not see her daughter before she dies.

Almog Meir Jan (22)

Almog Meir Jan is a resident of Or Yehuda in the Tel Aviv area. News agency Reuters mentioned that he left a voice message just before 8:00 am (local time) on October 7 on the cellphone of his mother Orit Meir.

He said, "Mum, rockets are (falling) everywhere. I don't know what is going on. Mum, I love you."

His mother told reporters in Athens in November that her life had become "a nightmare" and the last glimpse she had of her son was a Hamas video released shortly after the attack.

She said, "He was lying on the ground. He was terrified, terrified."

Andrey Kozlov (27)

Andrey Kozlov, aRussian-Israeli, was a security guard at the music festival and he was in touch with his father and friends during the attack. He told them that he had nowhere to hide.

Born in Saint Petersburg, he had recently arrived in Israel and was living in Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv. His family was informed about him three weeks after the abduction.

Shlomi Ziv (41)

Israeli media reported that Shlomi Ziv was part of the security team at the Supernova music festival and one of his two sisters spoke to him at 7:30 am (local time) on the day of the attack.

He told her there had been shooting and rocket fire and there was a bottleneck of cars trying to leave the site. He had told his sister that he would call back, but it apparently never happened.

Ziv lived with his wife in the town of Elkosh near the Lebanese border. He worked as a wholesale distributor but had recently studied to become an interior designer.

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Biden says 'won't stop working until all the hostages are home'

US President Joe Biden on Saturday welcomed the freeing of four hostages, vowing to work until all the captives were freed and a ceasefire agreed.

"We won't stop working until all the hostages are home and a ceasefire is reached. That's essential to happen," Biden said in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, who also congratulated the families for the release of the hostages.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.