Parents of Israeli commander, 36, killed freeing Noa Argamani in Gaza op tell her family to 'live every day like it's the last on Earth'

Their son made the ultimate sacrifice saving Noa Argamani and three other hostages from Hamas in a daring rescue mission that has been named in his honour.

Now the parents of fallen special forces hero Arnon Zmora, 36, have told Noa's father that she must 'live every day like it's the last day on Earth'.

Reuven and Ruthi Zmora said goodbye to their son in hospital as families were reunited with the four rescued hostages just a few wards away.

But they say the father-of-two would have gone into Gaza even if he had known he was going to die in Operation Arnon on June 8.

The 36-year-old commander in the Yamam counter-terror police was shot in the head as he stormed the apartment holding Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40.

The parents of fallen special forces hero Arnon Zmora, 36, have told Noa's father that she must 'live every day like it's the last day on Earth' (Noa pictured)

Arnon Zamora, an officer of the elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit, was fatally wounded in the operation to free Noa Argamani and three other hostages in Gaza earlier this month

Footage from the raid showed intense gun battles is the elite IDF unit stalked through Hamas controlled territory

The parents of fallen special forces hero Arnon Zmora, 36, have told Noa's father that she must 'live every day like it's the last day on Earth'

Noa Argamani is reunited with her father following the audacious rescue of four Israeli hostages in Operation Arnon 

After 245 days in captivity, Noa Argamani was rescued in an IDF raid that also freed three male captives. She is seen here hugging her father after they were reunited on Saturday

Comrades battled to save Arnon for three hours as they evacuated the men alongside 26-year-old Noa, who was rescued from a flat 200 metres away.

A fierce firefight erupted as the vehicles got stuck and Israeli air support was called in which created a 'ring of fire' around the special forces.

While the Gaza health ministry claims hundreds died as the air force fought off Hamas terrorists firing RPGs, Yamam managed to get all the hostages and Arnon out.

But despite undergoing a blood transfusion on the way back to Israeli soil the commander died at Sheba Hospital, near Tel Aviv, later that day.

'There are no words,' his 62-year-old mother, Ruthi, a primary school teacher, told the Mail from their home in Central Israel.

'I don't think that we really understand that he won't come back. It's something that you can't imagine or understand in your heart.

'We knew the dangers - this was his life choice - but it's really painful to think that I won't see Arnon again.'

The family held an open funeral the following day in Jerusalem which was attended by relatives of those he saved and thousands of Israelis.

Arnon's widow, Michal, 36, broke down in tears as she gave a heartwrenching eulogy telling how she lost her companion and a great father to their sons aged four and eight. He also leaves behind sister Einav, 39, and brothers Yonatan, 34, and Nitzan, 32.

Noa has been reunited with her mother Liora Argamani (right), who has stage four brain cancer

Noa is pictured embracing Ditza Or, the mother of her boyfriend Avinatan Or, who was also taken hostage by Hamas on October 7

The Israeli troops got embroiled in a lengthy firefight to get out of Gaza with the hostages

Helmet cam footage from the raid in Gaza shows Israeli forces searching for hostages

Aviram Meir, whose nephew, Almog, was rescued, also gave an emotional speech where he said a 'covenant' had been formed between the two families who are now 'bonded in blood'.

'The whole country has taken it very hard because Arnon really gave up his life knowingly to save hostages,' his father Reuven, 63, a hippotherapist, said.

'People we have never met said to me they came to find out who is the family who raised this boy, to say thank you, and to say sorry for our loss.'

Among those to pass on their condolences since the rescue was Noa's father, Yaakov, 69, who visited them after the funeral. Despite their own loss, Ruthi said they were 'thrilled for him'.

'I told him that I'm very glad that Noa came back – and I hope she will live a full life, build a home and live every day like it's the last day,' she said.

It is a message she says she wants all those saved by her son to take on. 'This is the most important thing for us, that they really live their lives,' Ruthi said.

'Because this is the meaning of our loss. It was their life that motivated Arnon that day.'

The contrasting emotions between the jubilation that four hostages had been saved and the loss of Arnon have made it difficult for the parents to process.

'During the rescue mission, Arnon was lying in the truck injured,' Reuven said.

'In the same truck were three of the hostages that had been released. In that small space in the truck there was tremendous happiness and sadness.'

This continued at Sheba Medical Centre, where families arrived 'in happiness' to be reunited with the four hostages before the parents came 'in sadness' to say their goodbyes.

'There was an air of happiness side by side with sadness,' Reuven said.

Noa Argamani speaks on the phone with Israeli president Isaac Herzog

Special forces made up of undercover operatives of Yamam and Shin Bet surround one of two heavily guarded buildings in Al Nuseirat, Gaza

Almog Meir Jan, 21, kidnapped from Israel in a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, raises his hands after arriving by helicopter to the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, Saturday, June 8, 2024

People wave Israeli flags to helicopter carrying hostages who were kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and were just rescued as its lands at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, Saturday, June 8, 2024

It appears his son, who completed a childhood dream to join the elite Yamam police unit eight years ago, knew his last mission would be one of his most dangerous.

He would confide in his father about operations and told him a month earlier that they were training for a high-risk hostage rescue – though did not disclose the names.

But, having said he had a 'good feeling we will succeed in bringing them home', Arnon gave his younger brother Yonatan, 34, his watch a week before the mission.

He told him: 'Take the watch, wear it on your right hand, in a few days I'll take it back.' Tragically, he never did.

'He knew the rescue would come at a cost,' Reuben said. 'Arno said rescuing a hostage is the most ethical and valuable action there is,' his mother added.

Since their son's death, every member of the huge rescue mission has come to pay their respects – from the fighter pilots and Yamam comrades to the doctors and medical staff.

They told how they fought to save him and nearly succeeded despite Arnon taking a bullet in the head.

'Everybody did everything they could,' Reuben said. 'They couldn't accept the thought that in this really heroic operation, Arnon wouldn't survive.'

The parents have also since found a note their son made explaining why he fights in a memorial book for a fellow member of Yamam who fell on October 7.

'I think the main reason that I chose this journey is my inability to stand on the sidelines when I witness bullying,' he wrote.

'At the end of the road when I look in the mirror and ask myself what did I do with the time given to me? Did I live for me alone, or for something much bigger than me?'

'He didn't know who he was going in to save, neither was it pertinent to him,' Ruthi said, referring to his last mission. 'Every hostage was precious.'

Reuven agrees and says of his son dying for others: 'He would do it again in the blink of an eye.'

Arnon had fought in October 7 and saved many people from towns near Gaza - something he 'couldn't forget' and 'carried with him' when training for his last mission.

For both his parents, while they are honoured that the historic rescue was named in their son's honour they hope that Israelis will learn deeper lessons from his life.

'We don't just want Arnon's legacy to be a name of mission,' Reuven said. 'We want people to be like Arnon'.

'Arnon hated violence or bullies and he didn't go there to kill anyone - but to save lives.'