The sister of Israeli hostage Romi Gonen shouted her name across the Gaza border today in a heartbreaking attempt to reach her.
Yarden Gonen, 30, desperately called out to her beloved sibling, who had not been seen in more than 10 months. She repeatedly shouted, “Romi! Romi! Romi!”
Standing perhaps just a few miles away from the 24-year-old, she shouted into a loudspeaker, “I want you to know that no matter what happens, we will not stop. We will do everything for you…
“My beautiful one, stay strong. You can do it. You are strong. You have so much light inside you, and I know you will spread it to everyone around you.”
In an emotional plea to those holding her sister, Yarden at one point switched to Arabic to beg Hamas to release Romi and the other hostages.
“To all the Hamas top officials who are listening to me now, I turn to you, Hamas leader,” she bellows. “This is not Islam. Stop hurting women. Enough! Enough!”
Romi’s older sister Yarden calls her sister from the Gaza border
The families have not seen their loved ones for almost 11 months since the shocking Hamas invasion
Romi Gonen was one of the hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas during the October 7 attack
Romi is pictured above with her family before she was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.
Romi (left) is pictured with her older sister Yarden (right)
Romi is pictured with her grandmother Dvora Leshem, undated
It was part of a powerful appeal at the border from dozens of families whose loved ones have been held for 328 days.
Some even tried to flee into Gaza themselves, but were stopped by border guards in scenes of great desperation.
As politicians repeatedly fail to deliver on their promises to release the hostages, the pain for their families has become unbearable.
As talks continued to stall, they traveled to the Gaza border to let the hostages know they were still fighting for them after nearly a year of torment.
Yarden screamed, ‘Romi! I want you to know, I want all of you to know that we stopped everything and nothing matters but you. Nothing!
“You are the most important thing in the world right now. Romi, my love! I’m sick of this. You don’t deserve this. None of you deserve this!”
Yarden’s family has not heard from Romi since a terrifying last phone call at the Nova festival on October 7.
Her mother, Meirav, had to watch as Romi was abducted by terrorists to Gaza, while her friends lay dying in their car after being ambushed.
Shira Albag, 51, whose daughter Liri, 19, is one of the youngest female hostages, was also summoned across the border.
“I love you, I miss you, I apologize,” she cried, tears streaming down her face. “We still haven’t made it, but I promise you’ll come back. Believe it!”
Liri was one of five teenage girls serving their national service as unarmed border observers when they were taken from the Nahal Oz base on October 7.
Images of their battered and bloodied faces were spread around the world, leading to international condemnation, yet they remain in Gaza.
Referring to stories of those freed in a hostage deal in November, Shira shouted, “I know you are strong. You are a hero. The hostages who came back said that too.
‘Survive out there. You can do it, I know you can. I know you. We fight here. We give up on no one.’
Desperately she cried, “I miss you so much, it hurts.”
Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of hostage Edan Alexander, also called on her grandson across the border to be a “strong boy.”
“Edan Alexander, your grandparents are here, our dear soul,” she screamed. “We are calling to you—can you hear us, Edanele? Your parents are waiting for you in America.”
Despite intense international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar have failed to reach a compromise that would lead to the release of the remaining hostages and an end to the bloodshed in Gaza.
Both sides accuse each other of making changes to a format approved by US President Joe Biden in May.
Liri Albag’s family urges her to stay strong and survive in Hamas prison in Gaza
107 hostages still held in Gaza as negotiations stall
Liri Albag was one of five teenage girls performing their national service as unarmed border observers when they were taken from the Nahal Oz base on October 7
A photo of Liri Albag before she was taken hostage on October 7, undated
Liri dressed as Queen Esther and smiling at her father Eli
Liri, 6 years old, with her father Eli. The family agreed to publish these private photos that show how she blossomed from a shy girl to a confident young woman who dreams of traveling
Liri with boyfriend Nir Alboro. He was run over by a terrorist and could no longer walk, but while she was held captive, he miraculously recovered and vowed to run to her if she was freed.
The ceasefire negotiations to free the 107 prisoners are dragging on, with talks continuing between the US, Qatar, Egypt and Israel.
For the families, the agony is becoming unbearable. Some are even trying to storm the border today to bring their loved ones back.
Families said they will listen to police and abide by Israeli law, “but we will come back because the hostages must come home now.”
Gil Dickman, whose cousin Carmel Gat is being held, was one of them. He threatened the Israeli government, using the prime minister’s nickname “Bibi,” and warned: “Bibi, Gallant, this is just the beginning, this is just the tip of the iceberg, next time we’re going in.
“This is a threat, the hostages’ families will not stop, if you don’t bring them home, we will bring them ourselves. We will come back.”