The unspeakable anguish of a father describing the moment he saw a video posted on social media of his daughter pleading for her life.
“It was Noa frightened and threatened,” Yakov Argamani, Father of captured hostage Noa Argamani said. “You don’t want to believe it even though you can clearly see it’s your daughter.”
He now wants this video to be seen widely.
Noa, 25, could be seen on the back of a motorcycle being driven away by Hamas terrorists.
Her boyfriend, Avi Natan, was also taken by the group.
They had been among the more than 1000 people partying at an all-night music festival in southern Israel near the Gaza border when it was raided by armed Hamas militants early on Saturday morning.
Her father says Noa and Natan were kidnapped, their whereabouts unknown but are assumed to be held in Gaza.
“I’m so sad at this moment,” Yakov said. “She’s my only daughter.”
Yakov’s pain is mirrored by so many others.
Parents, family members, wives, husbands filled with horror and despair thinking about the fate of their loved ones.
In one video that’s been circulating widely online, a woman is seen in the back of a truck as a militant puts a scarf over her head.
Currents News has not been able to independently verify it.
Yoni Asher, a resident of the Sharon region, says his wife and two daughters aged five and three were visiting their grandmother near the Gaza border.
He lost contact with them on Saturday morning and suspected they may have been abducted.
Later that day, his suspicions confirmed when he saw this video, the woman was his wife.
He said he wants the video to be shown in the hopes of getting them home safely.
“There was no doubt in my mind, I recognized them,” Asher said. “Surely my wife, my two daughters, my two little daughters that were on this cart. So I know for sure that they were taken.”
The Israeli army has not been able to establish the exact number of hostages taken.
So far, they estimate there are dozens, possibly more in captivity.
Yakov has a message to whoever is holding his daughter.
“You have casualties just like we do,” he said. “This is an opportunity to connect between the two nations to reach an honest peace.”
If you want to help the victims on both sides of the violence, you can donate to the international red cross at icrc.org and click donate now.