Israel hostage's terminally ill mother hopes for final farewell

Suffering from terminal brain cancer, the mother of Israeli hostage Noa Argamani wants a chance to hug her daughter one last time and bid her farewell.

Argamani, 26, has been held hostage in Gaza since she was kidnapped with her boyfriend Avinatan Or from the Supernova festival in Israel's Negev Desert during Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

She became one of the faces of the hostage crisis when footage of her abduction by two men on a motorbike emerged online. In the footage, a distraught Argamani shouts: “Don't kill me!”

Yaffe Ohad, Argamani's aunt, said she fears time is running out for her niece and sister-in-law Liora.

“The illness is serious, progressing at a fast pace. I hope time will not run out for her to see Noa,” Ohad said of Liora, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I've been looking at her for four months and I know her emotional state greatly affects her physical state. And I'm worried about her life. The longer Noa doesn't come back, it affects her for the worse.”

Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas in Gaza after its fighters rampaged through Israeli towns, killing 1,200 people and dragging more than 250 hostages back to the Palestinian enclave.

In response, Israel launched an offensive which has displaced most of Gaza's 2.3-million population and killed more than 27,000 people, according to local authorities. It also has caused shortages of food, water and medicine.

Liora Argamani's advanced illness and her appeal to US President Joe Biden in December to help her hug Noa, her only child, one last time, has moved the Israeli public.

“Liora is waiting, hoping she will be able to see her, be with her, even for just an hour. To hug her and say goodbye,” Ohad said.

Argamani's aunt and the families of other hostages were in Geneva on Tuesday to meet UN officials and the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric.

Some have accused international organisations and the Israeli government of not doing enough to have the hostages returned.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages last week a “real effort” was being made for their return, but it was too early to say how such a move would play out.

“We need to live in peace and reach an agreement to continue living [in peace],” Ohad said. “Because wars have always led to suffering and sorrow.” 

Reuters