Noa Kirel Says Appendicitis, Not Pregnancy, Forced Her Home From Japan

Noa Kirel addressed the medical scare that cut short her honeymoon with husband Daniel Peretz, speaking on Sunday at the launch of El Al's new travel platform, El Al Travel. She said the couple recently took an alternative honeymoon in Italy after their original trip to Japan was interrupted just four days in by her appendicitis, which led to an emergency return to Israel and hospitalization.

Kirel said the episode was frightening because it came after two major shows before the flight, when her body was already under strain. In Japan, she developed severe pain and could not stand or walk. Once doctors linked the problem to her appendix and considered her having only one kidney, she and medical experts in Israel decided she needed intravenous antibiotics, but Japanese doctors would not provide that treatment.

She said the language barrier made the situation even harder, noting that staff did not speak English and everything was in Japanese. Because of her medical history, she said it became clear that she needed to return to Israel. She described the pain as extreme and joked, “I don’t have a kidney, I need to have my appendix removed. My internal organs are less connected to my body.”

Kirel also responded to rumors that she had been pregnant. “Yes, when I wrote that I was coming back because I didn’t feel well, people said, ‘100 percent she’s pregnant,’” she said. “In the end I disappointed them and it was only appendicitis. But I really say, if I gain a little weight, if anything looks a little different, people think I’m pregnant. There will also be a baby, but later, God willing.”