Videos on social media show a woman, identified as a 25-year-old Israeli university student, being hauled off by "Hamas terrorists" after they launched rockets and fired into a crowd of hundreds of music festival attendees.
Noa Argamani, 25, and her boyfriend Avi Nathan were attending the "Festival for Peace" music festival in Israel's Kibbutz Re'im near the Gaza Strip as Hamas fighters opened fire and launched rockets into the crowd, Nathan's brother Moshe Or told Israeli media.
The attack on the rave was part of a series of surprise raids across southern Israel on Saturday, a Jewish holiday. The sudden assault began early as Hamas fired thousands of rockets against Israel and reportedly sent fighters by land and sea in an operation declared "Al-Aqsa Flood" after the revered holy site in disputed East Jerusalem.
A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows Argamani being taken away on the back of a motorcycle by Hamas fighters as she pleads for her life, Or told Israel National News.
"Don't kill me," she said in the video shared in an X post by journalist Hananya Naftali, which amassed nearly 680,000 views. The clip also shows Nathan being detained by Hamas operatives as Argamani is taken.
"Her name is Noa," Naftali said in the post. "Her crime was going to a music festival in southern Israel. She was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. I call on the international community to act against this vicious war crime and ensure all the Israelis will return home safely."
One person on X, OilLondonTV, posted photos of the Argamani and said her whereabouts were unknown.
"Noa Argamani is currently missing and at serious risk after being kidnapped by Hamas militants from the 'Festival For Peace' in Israel and bundled onto the back of a motorbike earlier today," OilLondonTV said. "Prior to the kidnapping, she text her friend from the music festival after Hamas terrorists opened fire in the crowd. She then took shelter with her boyfriend but both of them were later found and kidnapped."
Noa Argamani is currently missing and at serious risk after being kidnapped by Hamas militants from the ‘Festival For Peace’ in Israel and bundled onto the back of a motorbike earlier today.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) October 8, 2023
Prior to the kidnapping, she text her friend from the music festival after Hamas… pic.twitter.com/ApUvIXXbmZ
As the violence ensues, people have shared videos and photos on X showing the casualties and destruction, including a clip of the moment Israel destroyed Palestine Tower, a high-rise apartment building in Gaza.
Another video on X posted by the user jengelmayer shows a scene of chaos in the desert as Israelis are seen screaming and fleeing.
While the exact number of those captured by Palestinian fighters was unknown at the time, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that a "substantial" number of Israeli soldiers and civilians have been captured by Hamas forces as of Saturday night and that those taken were being held hostage in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are still battling with Palestinian fighters, with an estimated 250 Israelis killed and roughly 1,600 injured as of Saturday night, according to Haaretz. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an earlier statement that the country was at war with Hamas.
Newsweek reached out via email on Saturday to IDF for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Maura Zurick is the Newsweek Weekend Night Editor based in Cleveland, Ohio. Her focus is reporting on U.S. national news ... Read more
