Romi Gonen: 471 Days Ex-Hottage asks Trump to help release the remaining prisoners

There are moments when I am still awakened in fear, my heart pounding and I am sure I have returned to the dark tunnel beneath Gaza.

Then reality slowly breaks through – I am free. 471 days after Hamas took hostage, I returned to the world of light, family and possibilities. But my heart remains heavy, and I know that others are enduring the nightmare I have woken up.

My story begins on October 7th. I went to the Nova Festival with my best friend Gaya Khalifa and looked forward to a day of music and celebration. When the terrorist attack began, we desperately tried to escape. After hiding in the bushes, Ben Simone arrived in his car and saved me, Gaya and Ophitalfati.

For a moment we thought we were safe. But the hopes shattered when the terrorists fired fire on our car. I was injured. Gaya couldn't survive. I remember her last words to me: “Romi, they shot me.” We shared our last look. Her eyes met my eyes before she rolled over as she took her final breath. In the end, I was the only survivor from our car. Since getting back home, I have learned that Ben was able to save the other 12 people at the festival before he came back to save us.

Yaden Gonen: President Trump, thank you for saving my sister from Hamas

Every day in captivity, tested every fiber of my existence. I lost 22 pounds as food and water became a luxury rather than a necessity. I was injured, untreated, without painkillers, and brought total disability to my right hand. But somehow, I endured. In captivity, I found an unexpected lifeline, Emily Damari. We first had a horrible surgery in Gaza and met after awakening in the hospital after anesthesia. Thirty-nine days later we met again in the tunnel and remained inseparable. Two injured girls, two functional hands between us, two bleeding souls become one.

She was my light when Hope abandoned me. She smiled and lifted me up as I collapsed to the floor. I couldn't breathe when I cried hard, she wiped my tears away. When I admired my mother, she held me tightly and didn't let go. We fought together to survive and on January 19th we were both released.

I am extremely grateful to get my life back. President Trump, I ask you for your decisive leadership to move forward with deals that many people thought were impossible. When I returned, I learned how you promised from your first day that you would take all the hostages back. Your commitment has created a breakthrough that led to my release along with 37 other hostages. You have achieved what many diplomats and leaders deemed impossible. Your intervention has made this possible and I look forward to meeting you as you face to express my deep gratitude. I believe you'll finish what you started.

Romi Gonen is warmly accepted by her family after being released from Gaza by Hamas terrorists as part of the ceasefire deal. (Ma'ayan Toaf (GPO))

I also thank the brave soldiers of the Israeli Defence Force for putting their lives at risk. I would like to thank my family for traveling the continent tirelessly, like every hostage family, for refusing to let the world forget me and all hostages. Their unwavering defense and determination to bring me home supported them throughout their darkest times, as their ideas supported me through me.

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The journey has not finished since I returned home. I was hospitalized and had 13 hours of surgery. I never imagined my condition would be that serious. I didn't expect my feet to lose function as they harvested everything possible to fix my hands. I didn't think I needed rehabilitation for months. Rehabilitation is extremely physically and mentally challenging. But I face it. This is what I was waiting for during those endless days in captivity.

As I navigate this new chapter of healing and hope, I carry with me the memories of those dark days and those who have supported me through them. I take responsibility for speaking for people who are still unable to speak for themselves. The hostages are still waiting for their freedom.

The three released Israeli hostages Emily Damali, Romi Gonen and Dron Steinbrecher, who were accused of during the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian terrorists. It has been implemented. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images)

It makes especially sense to mark President Trump's first 100 days near Israeli Independence Day. But when our people are still captured, true independence cannot exist. All living hostages deserve the opportunity to breathe free air and reunite with loved ones, while the dead deserve to be returned to their family for proper burial and memory.

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My story is not just one of survival, but one of the lasting human capabilities for resilience. It is to find the light in the darkest places and intensity when everything appears to be lost. It is about bonds and hope that supports us that saves us.

My journey and my journey in Israel will not be completed until all the hostages have returned home. I believe in us. I believe in you, President Trump. Take them all home.