Noa Argamani 'says she and other hostages were kept as SLAVES': Shock new revelation as IDF also reveal the freed Israeli's touching first words as she was rescued from Hamas captors

Israeli hostage Noa Argamani who was freed from the clutches of Hamas in a daring IDF raid last week told the families of fellow hostages how they were kept as slaves in Gaza, it has been revealed.

Shira Albag, the mother of IDF soldier Liri who was also abducted and dragged back into Gaza on October 7, today told Israeli media that Noa explained how their Hamas captors forced them to cook and clean and refused to let them bathe.

'Noa said that they were slaves, and so were the (IDF) observers, Liri among them,' Albag said. 'They cleaned their yard, did dishes, and prepared food they couldn't eat.'

She quipped facetiously that Liri, who remains in the Gaza Strip, was held in a 'luxury villa' where they let her shower - but only after a month in captivity.

'After 40 days, they took her down to the tunnels. It's much worse. There is only salt water and not much food. No clothes to change into,' she added.

It comes as an Israeli special forces soldier who embarked on the heroic rescue of Noa revealed her first thoughts were for her terminally ill mother, Liora, despite being held captive without daylight for 245 days. 

The special forces operator said Noa's first words after being saved were: 'Is my mother still alive?' 

Members of the Yamam counter-terror unit that specialises in hostage rescue revealed the emotional exchange in their first interview since last week's rescue, which was published today in Israel.

Elite fighters last week stormed the building where 26-year-old Noa was held and told her: 'Noa, we're here to save you. We're here to bring you home.

'The first question she asked was, 'Is my mother still alive?' he told Israeli army radio channel Galatz.

'I said yes, she looked at everyone and then she asked, ''Are you sure?'' We said, ''Yes, Noa, we're here to bring you back to your mother''.'

He added: 'She was very frightened, very scared, but she co-operated. She was barefooted. One of the fighters put her on his back and then put her down on in the car.'

The vehicle then raced for the beach where a helicopter was due to evacuate them, but the car got stuck when a huge firefight erupted.

They managed to fight off the terrorists and get the vehicle moving again before making the rendezvous point in the nick of time.

'In the car she was still in shock,' the fighter said. 'She still didn't understand what was going on and then she said, 'I'm still a little scared of the road.'

'But at least we understood that she was already communicating with us in a good way. One of the fighters also gave her a piece of candy to try and reduce her stress.'

Noa was saved along with 21-year-old Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, all of whom were kidnapped from the Nova Festival on October 7.

One soldier from the Israeli rescue unit, Arnon Zmora, was shot in the head and killed rescuing the three men who were held 200 metres from Noa.

Noa has been tending to Liora, 61, who has stage four brain cancer, ever since the incredible rescue. 

Throughout her time in captivity, Liora made a series of heart-wrenching appeals to see her daughter prior to her death, and the pair enjoyed an emotional reunion in hospital hours after Noa landed.

Israel first received intelligence of the four hostages' location in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, on May 12.

A team of undercover operatives were dispatched to smuggle themselves into the area and gather more information, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

A team of undercover soldiers, including women in hijabs, then arrived in the area pretending to be two Gazan families fleeing Israeli bombing.

They pointed to the building where Noa was being held and offered a huge sum of cash to get a house, managing to secure a location on the same street within three hours.

Having set up a base just 800 metres from where the hostages were being held, the Israeli operatives fed information back to Israel that allowed Yamam fighters to prepare.

'We knew it was a girl, a hostage - we didn't know who exactly it was until a day or two before the operation,' one of the Yamam fighters said.

On learning Noa's identity they had to clear their mind of her emotional personal story.

'I was exposed to the fact that her mother was in hospital in a critical condition,' another of the unit said. 'I didn't know that and it got to me a little.

'I'm trying to put it aside because my goal is to be focussed on the mission and that nothing will affect my decisions on the ground.'

Noa arrived home on the 69th birthday of her father Yaakov. 

She appeared in good physical shape but medics have warned the road to mental recovery is long.