After 738 days in captivity, Israeli couple Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or have finally reunited—an emotional end to one of the most haunting stories from the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
The two were abducted from the Nova music festival, where chaotic footage of Noa being dragged away on a motorbike became an unforgettable symbol of the assault. While she was freed during an Israeli commando raid on June 8, 2024, Avinatan remained imprisoned deep in Gaza’s tunnel network until his release this week—part of a ceasefire deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump that saw 20 hostages returned.
Sharing their reunion online, Noa wrote: “Two years since they tore us apart in front of the whole world. We won our personal war—and now it’s time to heal together.” She also thanked Trump for “helping us overcome the darkness.”
Photos posted on Instagram show the couple smiling and holding hands aboard a helicopter—together again after two years of unimaginable separation. Israeli media reported they shared their “first cigarette together after two years,” a small but deeply symbolic gesture of normalcy.
Avinatan’s father, Yaron Or, described the brutal conditions his son endured—kept in cramped tunnels, surviving on meagre food, often chained and isolated, with no contact or books for months. “He’s extremely thin but mentally strong—the same Avinatan,” his father said.
For Noa and Avinatan, their reunion marks more than the end of captivity—it’s the beginning of recovery. “We’re ready to start our shared journey again,” she wrote, a sentiment now echoing across a nation that has followed their story with heartbreak and hope.
