Noa Argamani, an Israeli woman freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza in June, said on Friday that her injuries were caused by an Israeli air strike during her rescue operation, not by a Hamas attack.
Speaking to diplomats from G7 countries in Tokyo on Wednesday, Argamani detailed her ordeal after she was taken captive by Palestinian armed groups during the 7 October attack. However, two days later, she issued a statement on Instagram, saying that some of her remarks had been misquoted and taken out of context.
Contrary to some Israeli media reports, Argamani clarified that she was not beaten or had her hair shaved by Palestinian fighters.
“[Hamas members] did not hit me while I was in captivity, nor did they cut my hair; I was injured by the collapse of a wall caused by an [Israeli] Air Force pilot,” she added.
If they wanted to kill the hostages, they would have just killed them instead of taking them hostage. The whole point of a hostage is that it increases your power at the negotiating table. It gives you leverage. The hostage is something to trade in exchange for concessions, or the threat of harm to force the opponent’s cooperation. Neither of those work if the hostage has been killed or harmed, because any bargaining power you would have had from holding them goes right out the window as soon as the hostage is killed.