An Israeli woman who was taken hostage by Hamas at a music festival on Oct 7 has held a rave to celebrate her release.
Noa Argamani, 26, told family and friends at a “Return to Life” celebration in Israel that “we must appreciate every day of this life”, as she campaigns for other hostages to be returned home.
Ms Argamani’s kidnap was pictured in early reports of the Oct 7 attacks, including in a video in which she told her captors: “Please don’t kill me.”
She was rescued in an Israeli special forces raid in June, but her partner, Avinatan Or, who was also kidnapped, remains missing.
The pair were at the festival in Re’im, near the Gaza border, on Oct 7 when Hamas launched its attack, killing 364 civilians and taking 40 hostage.
Her “Return to Life” party featured a banner with her partner’s image and the words: “We will dance again.”
“We must appreciate every day of this life, and we should celebrate every moment we are here. We need to celebrate all the time,” she told attendees. “Two-hundred-and-forty-six days I’ve waited for this moment.
“It’s not ideal to have this party while there’s still a war going on, with our soldiers still on the battlefield, and 109 hostages still in Gaza, including my partner who we miss dearly.”
She was pictured dancing at the event with her father, Yaakov.
Ms Argamani has since become an advocate for the release of more than 100 hostages who remain in Gaza, and spoke to G7 leaders at a summit in Tokyo about them this week.
“It’s a miracle that I’m here,” she said. “Avinatan, my boyfriend, is still there, and we need to bring them back before it’s going to be too late.”
Despite hopes that a hostage-for-ceasefire deal would be struck in the latest round of talks between Israel and Hamas, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, left the Middle East empty handed last week.
Early support for a US “bridging proposal” collapsed after both sides accused each other of undermining the negotiations.
Hamas has said that it is losing faith in the US as a mediator, accusing the American negotiators of siding with Israel as it makes new demands that the militant group rejects.
Mr Blinken did not say whether the proposal addressed Israel’s demand for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza – which Hamas has said is a non-starter – or other issues that have long bedevilled the negotiations.
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