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President TrumpBecause of you, I can hug my sister again. After 471 painful days, Roma is finally home, and I owe you my deepest gratitude for allowing it. Your unwavering commitment and decisive action helped secure this job, giving me what I dreamed of for 15 months – seeing my sister smiling again.
Roma is the light of our family. She puts her family first and has nothing she won’t do for those she loves. It was before October 7th, and that remained even through the darkest moments of captivity.
I will never be able to forget the horrors of that day. Roma was only 23 years old when the Hamas terrorists abducted her from the Nova Festival. In her terrifying last moments of freedom, she was on the phone with our mother as she tried to escape from a place in a vehicle with her friends. Her last words are still persecuting us – she said the driver was dead and that her best friend Gay was shot and did not respond. She told us that she was shot in her hand and that she would bleed to death if help did not arrive quickly.
Hamas publishes 4 female hostages as part of Israel a tribute
The hostage cousins from the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, greet President Donald Trump at Capital One Arena on Donald Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, in the United States on January 20, 2025. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
471 days we lived in agony, not knowing what she was experiencing or what was happening to her there. In those 471 days, I lived in a nightmare that no sister should endure. Every hour, he was filled with thoughts about Roma in captivity, wondering if he was cold, hungry or scared. We didn’t know the scope of her injuries or received any medical care.
President Trump, we are a family of faith – through this terrible torture, we knew that we would be back alive, and you did it. Your strong and determined statements gave us hope when we needed it most. When others may have given up, you didn’t. When the negotiations seemed impossible, you pushed harder. Your unwavering request that all hostages must be returned home have proven crucial in providing an agreement that my Roma and others have returned to their families.
Roma Gonen (left) with her sister Yarden (right) before the massacre and massaca for the himas terrorist abduction. Roma was recently released after spending 471 days in captivity. (The hostage forum and missing families)
Thank you, President Trump, for being a catalyst who turned our hopes into reality. Your leadership has shown that even the most severe diplomatic challenges can overcome with enough determination.
Looking at how you bring you the hostage families to the stage during your presidential parade have shown your true concern and created us, 15 months after October 7, that we are not forgotten. Looking edition of four more female hostages – Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev and Liri Albag – they filled my heart with so much hope and love. Four more families gathered again. I know exactly how they feel, how much their families fought for this precious moment, and now 90 more families are waiting for their own gathering.
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Yarden (left) accepts Roma after release from Gaza. Hamas’s terrorists Roma kept hostage for 471 days. (Government printing)
The moment I first hugged Roma after her release, I felt a joy that I could barely in words. That hug would not be possible without your intervention. Your ability to use diplomatic channels and your dedication to bringing all the hostages home, even before your inauguration, have made a difference between continuous captivity and freedom for my sister.
But my family’s work is not completed. There are still 90 hostages in gauze – Sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, grandparents and young children. Each of them is someone’s Roma. Each of them has a family who is waiting, hoping, asking as we do. None of us who have reunited with our loved ones can truly be healed, while others remain in captivity. We need your constant support and influence to get them home.
President Trump, the agreement you helped secured, did not only bring my sister home – he gave us all the hope of returning everything with strong guidance and determination. Please help us to complete what you started and brought every last hostage home, as you stated as strongly. We depend on you to ensure that all stages of work are filled. Dozens of families deserve what you gave mine – that precious moment to hold their loved ones again.
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Roma Gonen and her mother Meirav Leshem Gonen reunited after Roma’s Gaza release. (Government printing)
Every time I look at Romi now, to her strength and heart that remained continuously even through this torture, I remind you that your intervention has enabled. With your help, we can turn more of a family prayer into a gathering. Only when all 90 hostages are at home can we really start treating.
Thanks, President Trump, for bringing my sister back. Please help us to bring everyone else home. Our hope rests on you.
