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Romi Gonen (23) has been held hostage by Hamas for four months. Shortly before the kidnapping on October 7, the service employee was on the phone with her mother Meirav (54), the Daily Mail reported. The Hamas attack on the music festival in Israel’s Negev desert was already underway at that time. While fleeing in a car, the 23-year-old came under fire. Her best friend Gaya Halifa (†24) died before her eyes. Romi Gonen was hit in the arm.
To mark the four-month captivity, Gonen’s family released part of the 45-minute phone call her mother recorded, knowing it could be her daughter’s last sign of life. Gonen is crouched in the footwell of the car with his cell phone to his ear. Mother Meirav Gonen tries to console her daughter and says, “I am with you, my love. Everything will be fine. We’re going to the hospital, you’ll get better. We travel together wherever you want.”
“I will die if no one comes”
Explosions are heard nearby. Romi Gonen stutters: “Hello? Mom?” They were ambushed, she explains. “The driver is probably dead. Gaya has been shot and she is not answering.” She and another occupant of the car were also shot. “Mom, just to be clear, I’m going to die if no one comes.”
Meirav Gonen asks about daughter’s car to get help. When she receives no answer, she continues: «Romilein, you are not alone. You are with me, my beauty. All good.” The mother is then heard promising Romi that they will return to the cafe where they sat three days earlier. “You will tell me everything and then you will heal.”
55 days of radio silence
While the mother listens on the phone, the kidnappers come to the car and abduct Romi Gonen to the Gaza Strip. The other occupant of the car was later pronounced dead. We haven’t heard from Romi Gonen for 55 days.
In November, a released hostage finally reported seeing the 23-year-old alive in the Gaza Strip. It is said that Romi Gonen reported abuse and violence. Her sister Yarden Gonen (30): “We were told that her gunshot wound to the arm was not properly treated.” The hand no longer works. “Her fingers can barely move and are changing color – and that was 10 weeks ago.”
Yarden Gonen’s greatest wish is that her ‘crazy’ sister finally comes home. “Sometimes I feel the pain so intensely that I feel like I’m going to explode inside,” she says. “I really, really miss her.” (no)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
