Jerusalem–

It is the dying mother’s last wish to be reunited with her daughter again. But six months into Israel’s war with Hamas, time is running out for Liora Argamani, who hopes to live long enough to see her kidnapped daughter return home.

“I want to see her again. Talk to her again,” said Agamani, 61, who has stage 4 brain cancer. “I don’t have much time left in this world.”

On October 7, Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 260 hostages. Noa Argamani was kidnapped at a music festival. Video of her abduction was one of the first to surface, and images of her horrified face were widely shared – with Noah being detained between two men on a motorcycle, one arm outstretched and the other Arms held down, screaming “Don’t kill me!”

Little is known about 26-year-old Noah. But in mid-January, Hamas released a video of her being imprisoned. Appearing haggard and intimidated, she spoke of other hostages killed in air strikes and frantically called on Israel to take her and others home.

Half a year has passed since the war in Israel, and anguished families like the Aghamanis are racing against time. In November, a week-long ceasefire resulted in the release of more than 100 hostages. But the war drags on, with no end in sight and no serious hostage deal to discuss. Israel says more than 130 hostages remain, about a quarter of whom are believed dead, as divisions deepen within the country over the best way to bring them home.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas and bring back all the hostages, but little progress has been made. He is under pressure to resign, with the United States threatening to reduce support for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israelis are divided into two main camps: those who want the government to suspend the war and release the hostages, and those who believe the hostages are an unfortunate price to pay for eradicating Hamas.

“They had these two goals and assessed the types of risks they were willing to take to get the hostages back — and that’s what you look at,” said Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow and analyst at the Jewish People Policy Institute. To where there is disagreement.” Israeli public television station Kan News.

The fitful negotiations brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt have achieved little. If a workable deal is reached, decisions will become more difficult and disagreements sharper, Rosner said.

But for most family and friends whose loved ones are imprisoned, there is no choice but to bring them home. Many are particularly worried about women held in Gaza and say, based on testimonies from freed hostages, they fear those who remain may be sexually abused.

Attendees held hostage posters before a recent parliamentary committee meeting. Yarden Gonen’s 23-year-old sister Romi, who was also taken away from the October 7 festival, criticized the government’s inaction.

“What are we fighting for?” she said. “What could be more important?”

Outside an art installation modeled after a Gaza tunnel where some of the hostages are believed to be being held, Romi’s mother said she could not believe that half a year had passed and so many people around the world wanted to forget or ignore such a horrific situation.

“We are doing everything we can so the world doesn’t forget,” Merav Lesham Gonen said. “Every day we wake up and take a deep breath and keep walking and keep doing the things that will bring her back.”

When Yonatan Levy saw the video of his friend Noah Agamani being imprisoned, he said he barely recognized the smart, free spirit of a woman who loved partying and traveling and was studying computer science. .

“When I saw that video, I thought maybe she was still alive physically, but dead inside,” Levy said. He met Agamani during a diving course in the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

Months before her abduction, Agamani asked Levy to help with her mother’s insurance, he said. Levy said that as an only child, she was a big part of her mother’s life and care, and she seemed hopeful that she would be okay.

But according to a video posted by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, Leola Agamani’s cancer has worsened.

In the book, Leola and her husband tearfully look through photos of Noah’s childhood. Leora spoke to the camera from her wheelchair and directly addressed U.S. President Joe Biden. On the poster board behind her sits a blown-up photo of Noah’s anguished face as he was dragged into Gaza, with her words written on it: “Don’t kill me!”

“My heart really hurts,” Leora, a Chinese immigrant, said slowly in accented Hebrew. “I’m asking you, President Joe Biden. … I’m really begging you.”

Psychoanalyst Ofrit Shapira Berman led a medical team that treated the released hostages, their families, and survivors.