While in Malta for a conference on anti-semitism and to meet high-ranking officials, the families of those held hostage by Hamas in Gaza spoke to James Cummings about their heart-wrenching experiences.

‘The heavens fell’

The footage of a young woman crying for help, her arms outstretched towards her boyfriend as she was carried away on the back of a motorbike by Hamas terrorists horrified the world.

Noa Argamani, then 25, had been partying with her boyfriend Avinatan Orr at the Nova music festival when it was invaded by Hamas fighters in a rampage that left more than 360 dead and around 40 kidnapped, including the young couple.

Describing the moment they saw Noa on the back of the motorbike, the young woman’s aunt, Yaffa Ohad, said the family was left in a state of shock.

“One of Noa’s friends knew about the video already and showed it to her father... The heavens fell on our heads.”

Describing Noa, now 26, as an intelligent young woman who loves music, dancing and travelling, Yaffa said that while she is ambitious and eager to “realise her dreams”, she is also generous and devoted to helping others.

“She used to volunteer in many organisations, especially with children who needed help,” she said, explaining Noa had assisted children with learning difficulties and delivered food to those in need.

Noa’s mother Liora was born in China, moving to Israel more than 30 years ago, where she “fell in love” with the country she always believed to be the “safest place to raise a child”.

Liora was diagnosed with terminal cancer around a year-and-a-half ago and is now desperate to see her daughter before she loses her battle with the disease.

“In Chinese culture, you never cry, but one week ago I was with Liora, and she started crying,” said Yaffa.

“She has difficulty speaking but she said, ‘I’ve been waiting for Noa for too long now’.”

‘He could have run, but instead…’

Bar Kupershtein was also at the Nova music festival when Hamas struck, but not as a partygoer.

The 21-year-old had been working as a security guard for the festival, and his aunt, Mazi Kupershtein, described how his heroic actions saved dozens of lives that fateful day.

“Bar is a brave young man. He could have run, but he chose to rescue as many people as he could,” she said.

“He went back and forth four times; he came back to the horror, to the chaos, to the shootings of the guns of the terrorists [and] he gave first aid because he’s also a medic.”

Mazi recalled how, through phone calls with Bar, she heard the massacre at the festival unfold.

“We were afraid for him... when I called him the first time, he answered and said he had to evacuate all the people because that was his job,” she explained.

“We talked to him half an hour later and he was very agitated. He said it was terrible there, with lots of rockets and that he couldn’t speak.”

Bar’s family found out he had been kidnapped from a Hamas video shared on Telegram and later posted to Instagram: “He was tied up but still raising his head. He called his name... I think he knew that could be his last sign of life.”

In the weeks that followed, the family was visited by those he cared for during the horrifying attack. Mazi described their stories as “incredible” and said they were a source of strength.

Does she wish Bar had used his last hours of freedom to save himself?

“It’s a real conflict because we always wish our loved ones would save themselves. But I know if Bar did that, he would not be Bar because he is a brave young man.”

Mazi said Bar’s disabled father is distraught at his son’s kidnapping. “His father is in a wheelchair and cannot speak but can understand everything. But he is always crying and shouting for Bar.”

‘You want to believe it’s a bad dream’

When Rita Lifshitz decided to visit Tel Aviv the night before the attacks, she had no way of knowing it was a decision which probably saved her life.

More than 100 Hamas militants swarmed the Nir Oz kibbutz, burning and looting buildings, massacring scores of the community and abducting many others.

Rita had lived in the kibbutz – a collective, traditionally agricultural community – with her family, including her 83-year-old father-in-law Oded Lifshitz, for 14 years. Oded was captured by Hamas during the attack alongside his wife Yocheved.

“The first thing that came on TV was Hamas terrorists running into our fields... and burning down the kibbutz,” said Rita, recalling news of the assault from Tel Aviv that morning.

Describing the moment Oded was taken, Rita said the last thing Yocheved saw was “her husband lying down in the grass. He had fainted and they were dragging him.”

While the family has not seen him in any videos or photos since then, Rita said other released hostages had told them her father-in-law is still alive.

Oded is a journalist who has campaigned for peace and Palestinian rights throughout his life and volunteered with the On the Way to Recovery association, which transports Palestinians to Israeli hospitals for treatment.

Does Rita think Hamas’ actions will have shaken his faith?

“This will not shake his faith because Hamas is a terrorist organisation and the Palestinian people are the Palestinian people. These are two different groups... he would still fight for peace when he comes back.”

Having lost so much, how does Rita manage to get through the day?

“Every morning, I wake up in that morning, the seventh of October, and you want to believe it was just a bad dream, a horrible dream,” she said.

“[But] I don't go to a psychologist – not because I'm against them, but because this thing hasn't happened before. So, how can a psychologist give me answers?” 

She explained that, instead, she tries to continue serving her community, "by giving hugs to all the members that are waiting for their children to come back."

Now, Rita spends her time taking people around the remains of the kibbutz and “going from funeral to funeral”. And while she still struggles, she remains optimistic she will see Oded and the other hostages again.

“It’s not easy but I’m positive they will come back soon. And they need to come back soon... and still my kibbutz, [despite] that we went through this horror, we still believe in peace with the Palestinian people.”

‘I’m proud of him’

When Nimrod Cohen’s father Yehuda heard the third round of sirens blaring out across Israel, he knew something was seriously wrong.

“When it happened the first time, [we thought] okay, it can happen. Hamas is up to something, it’s always like this. The second time, third time, we started to turn up to red alert... something was happening,” he said.

Yehuda tried to find news of his son online but couldn’t find anything. Then he decided to search on YouTube.

“The second video I saw, I saw him with his friends being taken,” he said.

A soldier with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Nimrod had been patrolling the border with Gaza when Hamas attacked. After a gunfight with militants, he and other members of his squadron were captured.

“Two of them were murdered on the spot. And he [Nimrod] and a mate were taken into Gaza. We saw a picture of him being taken,” he said.

Yehuda said his family were speaking to people around the world “not because he’s a rock star or a sports star, but because he is a normal boy with the misfortune to be kidnapped”.

Reflecting on Nimrod’s capture, does Yehuda wish his son had never joined the army?

“Everybody should serve, should give his part to the nation. We are in a country surrounded by enemies, and you can't just sit down at home and say others will do the job,” he replied.

And while Nimrod’s brother Yotam stresses that being a soldier “comes with certain risks,” he thinks that what has befallen his brother is well outside the norms of human decency.

“There are some risks you can accept... but in this case, what the hostages have been through is unacceptable by any international law,” he said.

But with Israel’s retaliatory siege of Gaza also drawing increasing condemnation from the international community for alleged breaches of international law, does Yotam think this criticism of his country is fair?

“Everyone should have the right to criticise. Every war, especially this war, is unfair and terrible to all sides. [But] we didn’t want this war; we didn’t start this war,” he said.  

“Nimrod was stationed near two villages which suffered some of the worst losses that day. The fact he was there... saved I don’t know how many lives. I’m proud of him because he chose to protect civilians. And now we as his family are fighting to bring him back home.”

‘We wait for you’

Chanan Yablonka had been celebrating the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah with his family the night before the attacks.

After finishing a meal at his parents’ home, Chanan said goodbye and headed out with a group of friends. That was the last time his family saw him.

He was missing for around three months before his family finally received the news he was alive but held captive by Hamas.

Unbeknownst to them, Chanan and his friends had made a last-minute decision to turn around and head south to attend the Nova music festival where four of his friends were killed. Chanan and others were taken captive by the terrorist group.

His mother Vered described the father of two as a sociable man who “loves life, sport, to party, to drink, to listen to music and to dance,” and said he has many friends in Tel Aviv.

However, despite his active social life, Vered stressed he is a devoted parent and “loves his family so much”.

She explained that when she first learned about Chanan’s capture, she did her best to shield his nine and 12-year-old children from the news.

“At first, they didn’t understand what happened [and] I didn’t want them to suffer, to feel the pain. So, I didn't talk with them about it,” she said. "But they have phones, television, they have friends. And they know, yes.”

Vered said his son is “really missing him” and keeps asking her when his father will come back. But she cannot answer him.

“This is a very terrible situation. I don’t know what to say to him because I don’t know when he can come back.”

If she could send a message to Chanan, what would she say?

“He knows how much we love him, and we will do everything so he can come back to us. [And] I would tell him to be strong, like always,” she said.

“We think about you. You be strong and you come back to us. We wait for you. All Tel Aviv waits for you, I know that.”