Noa Argamani marks 400 days of war, remembering time in captivity

Former Israeli hostage Noa Argamani published a story on her Instagram to mark the 400th day of the war on Saturday.

In the post, Argamani shared her frustration that 101 hostages have not yet been rescued from Hamas captivity. She also included pictures she had painted during her captivity, which Hamas published in a video before the rescue.

"I don't even know how to describe to you the feeling of frustration I experienced while I was still in the captivity of Hamas. Another day goes by, and another day goes by with total uncertainty and despair. 'When will it be my turn to go home? Have you forgotten about me? Have you left me behind?' These are sentences I would come up with daily."

She added that "the most frustrating moment is when another hundred days were added to the previous hundred. That's when I started counting from the beginning again. Although the count has started again, the conditions only got worse, and the despair only increased."

Operation Arnon

26-year-old Argamani was taken hostage during the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and was rescued on June 8 in Operation Arnon, along with three others: Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. 

Since then, she has been sharing her experience of her time in captivity, advocating for the Israeli government and world leaders to help rescue those still in Gaza. 

In August, she visited the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, where, in her first testimony since her rescue, she requested Japan’s help in securing the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas.