At the home of Yakov and Liora Argamani, October 12 has long been a day for celebrating their daughter’s birthday. This year, though, it is a day of sorrow for the Argamanis, after their daughter, Noa, now 26, was seen on video being kidnapped Saturday from a music festival by Hamas assailants.

Her parents held Noa’s birthday dinner in their home in Be’er Sheva, southern Israel, with cake and two empty chairs at the table. One was for their daughter, and one was for her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, who was kidnapped with her.

“We are waiting at home to celebrate your birthday,” Liora Argamani said in an interview, hoping her daughter could somehow receive the message. Only a few nights earlier, she had sat at the same table with her daughter and Or, she said, just before they went to the festival near Re’im.

Israeli authorities estimate that 260 people at the festival died in the Hamas assault. Hours after the attack began, friends showed Liora Argamani a video that had surfaced online of her daughter being forcefully taken away on a motorcycle by Hamas attackers.

New York Times News Service