Kidnapping of Romi Gonen

Romi Gonen, born 18 August 2000 to Eitan Gonen and Meirav Leshem Gonen and raised in Kfar Vradim, was attending the Nova Music Festival when it was attacked by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023. She arrived at the festival at 4:38 AM and attempted to flee as the attack unfolded. She was evacuated with her best friend Gaya Halifa and Ofir Tzarfati by Ben Shimoni, but the group was ambushed; Shimoni and Halifa were killed, while Gonen and Tzarfati were wounded. Gonen was shot in the arm and remained on the phone with her mother for nearly five hours during the attack, describing roads blocked by abandoned cars that prevented escape. She told her mother "They shot me, Mom, and I'm bleeding" before being abducted at 10:58 AM, pulled from a car by her hair and punched in the face. Her family was able to trace her phone signal into Gaza during the abduction, and later learned she was alive through accounts from other hostages released in November 2023.

During her captivity, Gonen briefly encountered fellow hostage Emily Damari at Al-Shifa Hospital on her first day, and the two were reunited in a tunnel 39 days later, spending the remaining 431 days of captivity together. Gonen, who had received paramedic training before her abduction, helped treat Damari's injuries. The two were held as human shields for Izz al-Din Al-Haddad for 35 days and were moved between tunnels and apartments; Gonen lost 10 kilograms during captivity.

In a post-release interview with Channel 12's Uvda on 25 December 2025, Gonen described being sexually assaulted multiple times by four different captors, including a doctor who treated her injuries and a cameraman who filmed her for propaganda purposes. She said that after one assault, a captor threatened her at gunpoint not to disclose the abuse. She was later interrogated by Hamas officers after another hostage learned of the assault, and stated that a senior commander she identified as Izz al-Din Al-Haddad promised to investigate and told her she would be prioritized for release if she stayed silent.

Gonen's family conducted a public campaign for her release, including her mother's frequent media appearances and a "leopard print Wednesdays" initiative, as well as her grandmother's nightly visits to Israeli government ministers during Hanukkah 2023.

Gonen was released in January 2025 alongside Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher as part of a ceasefire agreement. She underwent two surgeries on her arm and was discharged from the hospital in July 2025 after six months of rehabilitation. In August 2025, one of her named captors, Hazem Awni Naeem, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Gonen has since participated in public appearances, including being honored at an Israeli soccer match and appearing on Israeli Army Radio.