What We Know About the Four Rescued Israeli Hostages?

Four hostages rescued by the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and returned to their country were kidnapped on October 7 last year during a music and dance festival near the Israel-Gaza border by the extremist group Hamas. Israel has identified them as Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir, 22, Andrey Kuzlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, stating that Hamas held them in the heart of the Nuseirat camp among Palestinian civilians, and they were freed on Saturday, June 9, during an operation by Israeli military forces. These four are among about 120 remaining hostages held by Hamas, of which it has been reported that 43 have lost their lives in the past eight months. After being rescued, Noa Argamani was seen on a phone call with the Israeli President, and her kidnapping had previously made headlines. She was heard shouting 'Don't kill me' during her abduction by Hamas forces. In a mentioned video, Avintan, Noa's boyfriend, was shown being taken separately by Hamas forces. Noa's Chinese-Israeli mother is suffering from brain cancer and had previously expressed her despair about not being able to see her daughter before she dies, saying, 'I don't have much time left.' Noa is a student at Ben Gurion University in Israel. Almog Meir, who was freed alongside one of his friends, is a resident of 'Or Yehuda' and had sent a voice message to his mother before being taken, saying, 'Rockets are hitting everywhere, I don't know what's going on. I love you, mom.' His mother told reporters in Athens that her life has turned into hell and that the last image she saw of her son was from a video released by Hamas showing Almog being taken away. Orit, Almog's mother, said her son was lying on the ground in fear when he was abducted by Hamas. The Times of Israel reported that Almog had completed his military service three months before the Hamas attack. Andrey Kuzlov, after his rescue and return to Israel, was a Russian-Israeli citizen who was a guard at the music festival held near Kibbutz Re'im and faced the Hamas attack. During the attack, he was in contact with his father and friends, saying he had nowhere to hide. Three weeks later, his family was informed that he had been taken hostage. Andrey was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and had moved to Israel about a year and a half before his abduction, living in the town of Rishon Lezion south of Tel Aviv. His mother had gone to Israel after his kidnapping. Shlomi Ziv, after being rescued from the Gaza Strip, was also part of the security team for the music festival. During the Hamas attack, he told one of his sisters that there was shooting and missile fire. His last contact was with another sister, where he was out of breath from running and said he would call back. He lives with his wife in the Al-Kosh area of Israel, near the Lebanese border.