Abducted by Hamas, Noa never lost hope she would see her 'soulmate' again

Avinatan Or wraps an arm around his partner Noa Argamani's shoulders.

She flashes a warm smile as he ducks his head and kisses her on the cheek. 

It is an embrace two years in the making, with the pair finally reunited after being torn apart on a fateful autumn day.

Noa and Avinatan were among the dozens of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during the terror organisation's surprise attack on October 7, 2023. 

Footage of their abduction became an enduring illustration of the horrors endured by Israelis that day. 

Now safely in each other's arms, a chapter has closed on those harrowing two years.

Thrown on the back of a motorbike

Noa and Avinatan's lives changed the day they went to a music festival in the western Negev desert.

The event, held on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, was billed as a celebration of "friends, love and infinite freedom".

But for the thousands of revellers who made the journey to the site, it would be remembered as anything but.

So close to the border of Gaza, the Nova music festival was one of the first targets when Hamas launched a surprise terror attack on Israel in the early hours of October 7, 2023.

The militants poured out of vans and stormed into the festival unimpeded and sprayed bullets into the crowd.

Young people were sent running through the fields and along a nearby road to escape as rocket fire exploded around them, begging not to be killed.

Hundreds were gunned down as they attempted to escape in any way they could.

In the chaos and panic, the militants tore Noa away from Avinatan and bundled her onto the back of a motorbike.

"Don't kill me," she desperately cried, reaching for her partner with one arm, the other pinned down.

Captors whisked her down a dirt road.

Avinatan was marched away by a group of men.

It was the last moment the couple would see each other for more than two years.

A glimmer of hope

Noa was locked away alongside two male hostages, Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky.

There, they were subjected to "brainwashing" and emotional abuse.

Their captors forced them to read the Quran and study Islamic rulings, shifting them between several apartments in al-Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza.

Everywhere she went, Noa asked about Avinatan, not knowing whether he had been kidnapped or murdered.

Occasionally, she was allowed to go outside, dressed as a Palestinian woman. She never saw signs of her partner.

Unbeknown to Noa, she had become one of the faces of the October 7 attacks at home and abroad.

Footage of her abduction had become synonymous with calls for the release of the dozens of hostages in Hamas' captivity.

But as the days drew on, the world had little knowledge of whether Noa was still alive.

That was, until January 14, 2024.

Hamas released a video of Noa and her fellow captives, asking Israel to bring them home.

Another video of Noa was released the next day, in which she said Yossi and Itay had been killed.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later determined Yossi likely died during an air strike on a building near where the group was being held.

Israel says Itay was murdered days after Yossi died.

For her parents, the videos were the first tangible glimmer of hope that they might one day see their daughter again.

Her mother, Liora, and father, Yaakov, continued to call for her return to Israel.

A former Chinese national, Liora approached the Chinese embassy for help to no avail.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, too, appealed to the Chinese ambassador to call for Chinese President Xi Jinping to intervene.

But Beijing refused to step in because Liora had renounced her citizenship — a decision previously forced by China's prevention of dual citizenship, according to a report by Ynet.

Still, Noa's parents did not give up hope.

But for Liora, time was running out.

She was dying of brain cancer and had just months to live.

"I want to see her one more time. Talk to her one more time," Liora said in a video pleading with Hamas.

Eight months went by.

A rescue operation

On the morning of Saturday, June 8, 2024, Noa heard loud knocks from outside the apartment.

It was the IDF, coming to rescue her as part of a "complex daytime operation" that had been planned for weeks.

She was transported by helicopter to Sheba Medical Center for examination, where it was determined she was malnourished.

Noa was one of four hostages to be rescued and reunited with their families in Israel that day, after spending eight traumatising months as a hostage.

She buried her tearful face in her father's chest the first time she saw him.

It was Yaakov's birthday.

"What a present I received," he said of his daughter's return.

"There's no army like this in the world."

In a phone conversation with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Noa said she was "so happy" to be free.

"I am very excited; I haven't spoken Hebrew for so long."

Noa was later transferred to Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv and reunited with Liora, who was receiving treatment for her cancer at the facility.

While Liora's condition was worsening, she was granted her dying wish — to see her daughter one last time.

Three weeks later, Liora died.

Holding hope for Avinatan

Noa may have been free, but with her "soulmate" still in captivity, her anguish continued.

Held by Hamas in isolation and starving, Avinatan had no idea his partner had been saved.

And Noa did not know whether he was still alive.

Not discouraged by the continued fighting, she set about leading efforts to see the remaining hostages released.

Her lobbying took her all the way to the US, where she met with US President Donald Trump and addressed Congress.

Noa and her father visited the tomb of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in the New York borough of Queens to pray for the hostages' return.

Yaakov had prayed for her safe return at the tomb in November 2023, when she was still hostage.

In August 2024, Noa and her father travelled to Tokyo to meet with diplomats from G7 countries.

She returned to the US in February to address the UN Security Council.

Time Magazine named Noa as one of the most influential people of 2025.

"Noa's advocacy has illuminated Hamas' extreme brutality, but more importantly, her bravery has embodied Jewish resilience and strength even in the worst moments," former second gentleman Doug Emhoff wrote for her Time profile.

"She is living proof to the world that, despite everything, 'We will dance again.'"

Avinatan was never far from Noa's mind.

"I miss Avinatan more with every passing day," Noa wrote in a social media post on the second anniversary of the terror attack.

Mr Trump had teased that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was "very close", and many Israelis were daring to hope.

"We pray that in the next few days we'll hear good news, and by the end of this holiday, we will see our loved ones again."

The couple had spent more of their relationship apart than they had together.

On October 13, 738 days after Hamas' deadly terror attack on October 7, 2023, Avinatan was among the 20 surviving Israeli hostages who were brought home.

As he stepped off a helicopter and onto home soil, Avinatan made a rounded heart symbol with his hands for the waiting cameras.

Now free after years of isolation, there was one person he desperately wanted to see: Noa.

Upon his release, Avinatan reportedly asked to spend time with her alone.

Reunited, the pair shared what they described as their "first cigarette together after two years".

Editor's note (15/10/2026): An earlier photo caption at the top of this article incorrectly stated that Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or had been kidnapped by Israel and not Hamas.