Liora Argamani, mother of the abducted woman Noa Argamani, has passed away. This is what Ichilov Hospital said this morning (Tuesday). Liora battled terminal cancer for a long time, and while Noa was in captivity she said that her wish was to be able to see her daughter. In recent days, she was privileged to be with her daughter Noa, and with other family members.
On June 8, following Noa was rescued in a daring operation from the Nusirat camp in Gaza, the two were reunited at the Ichilov Hospital, where Liora was hospitalized following her deterioration. Since then, Noa has been close to her bed and even involved in her medical treatment. The medical staff at the hospital said that despite Liora’s difficult condition, it can be estimated that she understood that Noa was back.
Since her abduction, Liora has participated in the fight for the return of her daughter Noa. Even when her situation was difficult, she appeared for interviews, wrote letters to world leaders and called for every effort that would lead to the release of her daughter. In her last interview, Liora described the unceasing hope that her daughter would return in the shadow of her deteriorating condition, and asked to address the world leaders.
“How much I miss you,” said Liora in an interview with Yaakov, Noa’s father, ahead of the Seder night which they had to spend without their only daughter Noa. “The situation is not simple.” Liora asked for help from US President Joe Biden: “I would like him to help us as much as possible, but I know it’s not a simple issue.”
Jacob and Liora Argamani Photo: News 12
In December, Liora wrote a letter to Biden, in which she asked for his help in releasing her daughter. “I am terminally ill with stage 4 brain cancer,” she wrote in a letter that echoed in many media around the world. “All I ask for, before I separate from my family forever, is the opportunity to hug my daughter, my only child, for the last time.”
Noa said that even while she was in Gaza, she never stopped thinking regarding her mother’s condition. “The thing that occupied me the most in captivity was the concern for my parents,” she said in a video that was broadcast at a rally for the abductees. “It is a great privilege to be by my mother’s side following eight months of uncertainty. It is a great privilege to know that my parents are surrounded by so many good people.”
Liora, 61 years old, has been battling brain cancer for several years. She came to Israel from China more than 30 years ago, for a short period as a student at the Negev Research Center. In Be’er Sheva she met Jacob and the two fell in love, Noa is their only daughter.
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