Shocking new revelation as IDF also reveals touching first words of freed Israeli woman as she was rescued from Hamas captors

By David Averre and Andy Jehring and Natalie Lisbona In Tel Aviv

15:16 June 14, 2024, updated 17:09 June 14, 2024

Israeli hostage Noa Argamani, freed from the clutches of Hamas in a daring IDF raid last week, told the families of his fellow hostages how they were kept as slaves in Gaza, it has been revealed.

Shira Albag, the mother of IDF soldier Liri who was also kidnapped and returned to Gaza on October 7, told Israeli media today that Noa explained how their Hamas captors forced them to cook and clean and refused to let them bathe.

“Noa said they were slaves, just like the (IDF) observers, including Liri,” Albag said. “They were cleaning their garden, washing dishes and cooking meals they couldn’t eat.”

She joked that Liri, who remains in the Gaza Strip, was being held in a “luxury villa” where they let her shower – but only after a month of captivity.

“After 40 days, they took her to the tunnels. It’s much worse. There is only salt water and not much food. No clothes to change into,” she added.

It comes as an Israeli special forces soldier who embarked on Noa’s heroic rescue revealed his first thoughts were of his terminally ill mother, Liora, despite being held captive without sunlight. day for 245 days.

The special forces operator said Noa’s first words after being rescued were: “Is my mother still alive?”

Members of the Yamam counterterrorism unit, which specializes in rescuing hostages, revealed the emotional exchange in their first interview since last week’s rescue, published today in Israel.

Last week, elite fighters stormed the building where Noa, 26, was being held and told her: “Noa, we are here to save you. We are here to take you home.

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“The first question she asked was, ‘Is my mother still alive?’ » he told Israeli military radio Galatz.

“I said yes, she looked at everyone and then she asked, ‘Are you sure?’ » We said, “Yes, Noa, we are here to take you back to your mother.”

He added: “She was very scared, very scared, but she cooperated. She was barefoot. One of the fighters put her on her back, then put her in the car.

The vehicle then raced towards the beach where a helicopter was to evacuate them, but the car became stuck when a huge exchange of fire broke out.

They managed to repel the terrorists and get the vehicle moving again before reaching the meeting point in time.

“In the car, she was still in shock,” the fighter said. “She still didn’t understand what was happening and then she said, ‘I’m still a little scared of the road.’

“But at least we understood that she was already communicating with us in the right way.” One of the fighters also gave him a piece of candy to try to reduce his stress.

Noa was rescued along with Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, who were all kidnapped from the Nova Festival on October 7.

A soldier in the Israeli rescue unit, Arnon Zmora, was shot in the head and killed while rescuing the three men held 200 meters from Noa.

Noa has been caring for Liora, 61, who has stage four brain cancer, since this incredible rescue.

Throughout her captivity, Liora made a series of heartbreaking pleas to see her daughter before she died, and the couple had an emotional reunion at the hospital hours after Noa landed.

Israel first received information on the whereabouts of the four hostages in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on May 12.

A team of undercover agents was dispatched to sneak into the area and gather more information, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

A team of undercover soldiers, including women wearing hijabs, then arrived in the area posing as two Gazan families fleeing Israeli bombing.

They pointed to the building where Noa was being held and offered a huge sum of money to buy a house, managing to secure a location on the same street within three hours.

After setting up a base just 800 meters from where the hostages were being held, Israeli agents passed information to Israel that allowed the Yamam fighters to prepare.

“We knew it was a girl, a hostage. We didn’t know who it was exactly until a day or two before the operation,” said one of Yamam’s fighters.

Upon learning Noa’s identity, they had to empty their minds of her emotional personal history.

“I was exposed to the fact that his mother was hospitalized in critical condition,” said another member of the unit. “I didn’t know that and it hit me a little.

“I try to put that aside because my goal is to focus on the mission and nothing will affect my decisions on the ground.”

Noah arrived home on her father Yaakov’s 69th birthday.

She seemed in good physical shape, but doctors warned that the road to mental recovery was long.