Clearwater family hopes for safe return after Israeli cousin taken hostage in Hamas attack

CLEARWATER, Fla. - When word came Saturday morning at five that Israel was under attack, it took a bit for Anat Ezra to grasp that this time would be worse.

"I opened the internet, and I was like, ‘oh my goodness. Oh my goodness,’" she said. "I talked to my family, and they said they probably kidnapped our relative, my cousin."

Confirmation came flying around the internet of their beloved cousin, 25-year-old Noa Argamani, begging not to be killed as they separated her from her boyfriend, Avinantan Or.

"Noa is the only child in the family," said cousin Anat Ezra. "It took them so long to bring her to the world."

The day after Noa was abducted, video of her in the same outfit surfaced.

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Anat and her husband, Tal, have kept in touch with Noa's parents as they live this nightmare. FOX 13 spoke with her mother, Liora, through a translator.

"When [I] saw her drinking the water, it gave [me] relaxation, peacefulness because, you know, at least she's alive," she said.

They have heard very little from Israeli authorities about any efforts to rescue hundreds of hostages taken by Hamas.

Thursday is Noa's 26th birthday.

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"[I] believe that what's holding [me] together is the belief that she will come back home in one piece and alive," she said. 

Noa's family says she lived her life hoping to spread love to the world.

The music festival she attended was raided by terrorists who indiscriminately killed 260 people. It was intended to be a celebration of life.

"Their only crime was that they celebrated peace in the Middle East, peace in the world," said Ezra's husband, Tal.

Noa is a university student and served in the Israeli military. 

"I hope for the good," said Anat Ezra. "I really hope that somebody will hear me and will open the gates to come back to Israel for those kidnapped."