Noga Weiss
Noga WeissIDF spokesperson

Noga Weiss, who was released last November from Hamas captivity, completes an IDF course with honors.

Weiss said that "I had many thoughts before, from the moment when I was sure that I would never be drafted, until I felt safe where I was, and then I realized that I wanted to exceed my own expectations."

"During the training course I became more and more at peace with my decision. Today I have finished the course and I feel that I have won. I am excited for the future, to feel that I am able to help other soldiers."

In April, Weiss spoke about her time in captivity and said in an interview with Channel News 12 that "the terrorists’ moods changed all the time. Sometimes they played cards with us and laughed, but then if someone said even one word out of place, one of them suddenly left the room and came back with a gun."

One day she was moved to a new house and the attitude towards her changed. "Suddenly, an Arab woman wearing a hijab entered the house. It took me a while to realize that this person was my mother. I didn't know she was alive, and she didn't know I was alive, I never even considered it. I was sure I was there alone."

She soon realized that there was a reason her mother Shiri had been brought there. One of the Hamas terrorists wanted to get her mother’s approval for Noga to marry him: "He said he wanted us to be brought together, so that my mother would give him the approval. He actually brought a ring and told me 'everyone will be released and you will stay in Gaza. You will marry me and have my children.' He asked my mother if she approved."

"We tried to laugh a fake laugh so we wouldn't get shot in the head. But then my mother got really angry and yelled at him and said she wasn't giving any approval," she said.

Weiss said that during the time after the incident, she could feel the tension in the air: "That terrorist only brought a ring two weeks later. He stayed with us until day 50, and he kept on telling me that I was staying here with him in Gaza, even after everyone is be released, and that I would raise his children."