Israeli hostage Noa Argamani freed in time to see her terminally ill mother

TEL AVIV, June 8 (Reuters) - Hours after being rescued from eight months of captivity in Gaza, freed hostage Noa Argamani arrived at a hospital in Tel Aviv to see her terminally ill mother.

Argamani, 26, became one of the most recognized faces among the hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7. Harrowing footage of her being taken into Gaza on the back of a motorcycle, pleading for her life and desperately reaching towards her boyfriend being marched alongside her on foot, circulated across the globe.

Argamani's boyfriend, Avinatan Or, remains in captivity.

Argamani was rescued on Saturday, along with three other hostages, in an operation by Israeli special forces from an apartment building in central Gaza.

"I'm so happy to be here," she said in a phone call with Israel's president upon her return, smiling and surrounded by friends and family.

She was later met with cheers upon arrival at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, where her mother, Liora, is being treated for terminal brain cancer.