Noa Argamani & Avi Nathan: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Noa Argamani is a formerly missing Israeli woman who was kidnapped by Hamas militants at a music festival and driven away on a motorbike in a dramatic video. On June 8, NBC News reported that Argamani has been rescued alive.

The Jerusalem Post reported that she is in stable condition and her boyfriend, whose name was given as Avinatan Or, remains a hostage.

The video shows her crying out for her boyfriend, Avi Nathan or “Avinatan,” who was prevented by armed militants from helping her and is also now missing. Israel National News reported that Argamani and Avinatan were confirmed as the couple in the video by the boyfriend’s brother, Moshe Or.

They are among multiple Israeli hostages captured in videos that show abductions.

The music festival near the Gaza Strip turned into a “battlefield,” according to Haaretz, when hundreds of attendees “were fired upon from all directions, scattering and hiding wherever they could” by Hamas militants.

According to the Times of Israel, Argamani was one of multiple Israelis who were seen in videos being taken hostage or abused by Hamas militants as they led a surprise attack on Israel.

According to CNN, at least 300 people have died in the Hamas attacks, approximately 1,500 are injured, and there are other missing hostages as Israel’s prime minister says the country is at war and vowed to retaliate. The attacks unfolded on October 8, 2023.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Noa Argamani Pleads, ‘Don’t Kill Me’ as She Is Driven Away by Hamas Militants in the Graphic Video

The viral video, which is graphic and disturbing, shows Argamani being forced on the back of a motorbike.

“Don’t kill me! No, no, no,” she pleads. More of the video shows Nathan being marched down a dirt path surrounded by militants as Argamani is driven off.

According to BBC, Argamani and Nathan were seized at an “outdoor party in Kibbutz Re’im, a suburb in the city of Ofakim in Israel’s south – not far from Gaza.”

Militants descended on the rave and opened fire on attendees, BBC reported.

Another woman at that party, Shani Louk, who holds German citizenship, was later paraded on the back of a pickup truck in an extremely disturbing video that showed her motionless and disfigured body.

“Our Noa was kidnapped in Gaza! We haven’t heard from her since this morning! Please help us. Spread this terrible news so that Noa Argamani can bring her home❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻” Adi Harara wrote on Facebook, sharing the video.

2. A Second Video Was Posted Showing Noa Argamani Being Held by Hamas Militants

Video circulated on X that appears to show Argamani being held by Hamas militants and drinking from a water bottle.

She has an Instagram page, but it is set to private.

Argamani’s Facebook page is locked.

According to The New York Post, she is 25 years old.

3. Noa Argamani’s Sobbing Father Told Israeli Media That ‘She Was So Petrified, So Scared’

Yaacov Argamani, her father, told Israel’s 12 News, according to Daily Mail, “I was hoping this is a mistake that it’s not true. And then in the hospital a guy asked me if I wanted to see. I said yes and then I know for sure it is Noa… she was so petrified, so scared.”

He spoke to Israel’s 12 News. “I was always so protective but in this moment I couldn’t protect her,” he said, according to Daily Mail, which translated the broadcast.

“All my life since she was born I have tried to protect and hug her, support and love her. I wish I could at this difficult moment at least encourage her or say something to her,” he told the broadcaster, Daily Mail reported.

According to the Times of Israel, Argamani said his daughter’s boyfriend, whom he named as “Avinatan,” said in a WhatsApp message an hour later that “everything was fine and wrote, ‘I will contact you later.’”

4. Families of Hostages in Israel Told Israeli Media That They Feel Abandoned as Avi Nathan’s Brother Said, ‘His Phone Was Not Available & Neither Was Hers’

According to the Times of Israel, the families of Israeli hostages feel abandoned by the government.

A man named Nissim told Channel 12 that his brother was at the same rave.

“Where is the government? Why is nobody helping us find them?” he shouted, according to Times of Israel, which added that he told Channel 12 that his brother last messaged him, “Nissim, help us. They shot us. I am bleeding.”

According to the Times of Israel, Moshe Or told news outlets that he had identified his brother Avinatan, and Avinatan’s girlfriend Noa Argamani, “in a video published on Telegram showing the two being led by terrorists to Gaza.”

“I was worried and tried to call them, but his phone was not available and neither was hers. After a few hours, emergency services contacted us and told us that they saw a video of my brother and his girlfriend Noa taken hostage toward the Strip,” he said, according to the Times of Israel.

Nathan’s brother told Israel National News: “There are dozens more missing and at the moment there is no government agency in the country, anyone official who is coordinating this, other than the 100 emergency number, who is doing anything. People are getting together in groups on Instagram and Telegram to share names, and you see very long lists. There are dozens if not hundreds of people who are missing.”

5. Avi Nathan’s Brother First Unearthed the Abduction Video by Scouring Telegram Groups, as Other Dramatic Videos Showed People Fleeing the Rave Festival

Dramatic videos showed people fleeing the rave festival.

Avi Nathan’s brother told Israel National News that he initially found the video of his brother and Argamai by scouring social media.

“I started looking for it in the various Telegram groups. It didn’t take me long to find it. I saw Noa looking scared and frightened in the video. I can’t imagine what’s going through her mind – screaming in panic, when some scumbags are holding her and not letting her go,” he told the Israeli news outlet.

He added: “My brother who is a big guy, two meters, trains four times a week, a really strong guy. They held him maybe four or five of them, and just led them towards the Strip I guess.”

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