Israeli hostage Avinatan Or appeared distressingly thin as he was released from Hamas captivity as part of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Or, 32, and his girlfriend Noa Argamani were kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the October 7, 2023 attack.
Hamas released horrifying footage of the pair’s abduction, which quickly became one of the most well-known videos from the attack.
Argamani, 28, was seen on an all-terrain vehicle crying ‘don’t kill me!’ and reaching out her arms to Or, who was marched away from her by Hamas.
Or had not been seen in more than two years and unlike Argamani, who featured in a Hamas propaganda video in May 2024, was not shown in any subsequent footage.
The electrical engineer, wearing a quasi-military uniform, appeared noticeably thin Monday as Hamas handed him over to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
He was brought to Israel as part of a ceasefire deal that saw Hamas release all 20 remaining living hostages on Monday. Under the deal, Israel released over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and is to allow a surge of food and aid supplies into Gaza.
Or has since been taken to the IDF’s Re’im base in Israel and is expected to soon be reunited with Argamani, who was rescued by Israeli forces in June 2024.
Or and Argamani were planning to move in together when they were kidnapped from the Nova music festival two years ago.
The couple spent hours hiding in a ditch and were trying to flee by car when they were captured by Hamas.
Or reportedly had the opportunity to escape, but did not want to leave Argamani behind ‘at the hands of the monsters’, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The pair were separated during the abduction, with Argamani repeatedly asking about her boyfriend throughout the duration of her captivity.
‘I did not know if he was alive, and I did not want to know the answer, because it would have been too much for me,’ she said previously.
‘Until my boyfriend and all the remaining hostages are home, I will not heal. I will keep fighting as much as I can to bring everyone home.’
Argamani was rescued in a daring helicopter mission in June 2024 and went on to become an outspoken survivor and critic of Hamas.
She was saved along with 21-year-old Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, who were also at the Nova Festival when Hamas terrorists struck.
Argamani made it home just in time to say goodbye to her mom, who was dying of brain cancer.
Argamani, who survived more than nine months in Hamas captivity, became one of the faces of the October 7 tragedy after horrifying footage went viral of her being kidnapped and taken from the Nova music festival on a motorbike.
She was invited to speak at a Jewish fundraising event in Ontario, Canada this past June.
During her address, the brave survivor revealed she was held by a ‘well-to-do’ family while in captivity, but kept under armed guard.
She was rarely allowed to wash and never saw daylight as she was moved from house to house at night while dressed as an Arab in a bid to evade detection.
In a heartbreaking letter to her captive love Or, who she met at Ben-Gurion University four years ago, Noa wrote of the October 7 horror, describing it as: ‘That moment which the whole world witnessed – the moment when my heart was torn apart and has never recovered since.
‘I always promised you that we would conquer the world together, that we would grow old together, that I would be by your side through thick and thin.
‘At that moment on October 7, I fought until the last minute so that we could go through everything together, side by side. Unfortunately, those were the last moments I saw you.
‘Unlike the thousands of people who were murdered since October 7, you can still be saved.’
Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza on Monday, while Israel began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that pummeled the territory, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, and had left scores of captives in terrorist hands.
Cheering crowds greeted buses of prisoners in the West Bank, while families and friends of the hostages gathered in a square in Tel Aviv, Israel, cried out with joy and relief as news arrived that the captives were free.
The hostages, all men, have arrived back in Israel, where they will reunite with family and undergo medical checks.
The bodies of the remaining 28 dead hostages are also expected to be handed over as part of the deal, although the exact timing remained unclear.
Buses carrying dozens of freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank and Gaza, as Israel began releasing more than 1,900 prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire deal.
While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners raised hopes for ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and Hamas.
The ceasefire is also expected to be accompanied by a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that he was ‘committed to this peace’ in a speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
The war began when Hamas-led terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack saw some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 251 taken hostage.
In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the dead were women and children.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
The toll is expected to grow as bodies are pulled from rubble previously made inaccessible by fighting.
The war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90 per cent of its some 2 million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.
