The mother of a kidnapped Israeli waitress has said she is throwing her daughter a huge party for her 24th birthday today in the hope she will see it in captivity.
Hundreds turned out to mark the birthday of Romi Gonen and to add pressure to secure a ‘last chance’ deal to free the 115 remaining hostages.
Meirav Gonen, 54, asked supporters to wear leopard skin print to mark the sombre occasion in a nod to the outfit her daughter was wearing when she was kidnapped.
The mother of five told that there has been no news of Romi since last November when released hostages passed on messages from Romi to her mother to ‘stay strong.’
‘In Israel it’s said that no news is good news, I am trying to stay positive – of course there have been days I have crashed. But I know she is alive, I feel she is alive,’ she said.
‘We wanted to celebrate Romi in case she sees something from this and knows we are still fighting for her.
‘I know from the released hostages she had seen snippets of us when she was in captivity, so we are doing this in case there is the smallest chance she sees we haven’t forgotten her and love her – I love my Romi.
‘We all understand there is no perfect deal, but this is urgent. It’s about human life. They need to come home now.’
Well-wishers were asked to take part in a ‘happy dance’ for Romi who studied dance for 12 years and wanted to become a choreographer before she was taken.
Friends and family lit birthday candles on the stage, wished Romi a happy birthday and to come home soon, along with all the other hostages.
Romi’s father Eitan 55, his voice emotional, told of how much he misses her laugh, her energy, her messages, her dances and the glass of red wine they would drink together on Friday night. ‘Look how many friends you have, we feel it every day.’
After some of her favourite songs were performed the birthday ended with an emotional performance with all her loved ones.
Her eldest sister, Yarden, 30, has started running dance classes every Sunday at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv for Romi following October 7 to ‘feel close’ to her.
‘It is the only time I can truly forget about everything and everyone,’ the nurse, from Tel Aviv, told Mail Online.
‘Today, on her birthday, I can’t celebrate with her as I normally would. I can’t send her a message or surprise her at work like I normally would. I can’t hug her.
‘I can’t celebrate her or with her. I’m left wondering when will I get to see her? How does she survive this for so many days?’
The last the family heard from Romi was during a harrowing final phone call with her mother, Meirav, moments after she was ambushed by terrorists on October 7.
She is heard cowering from heavy gunfire in the footwell of a car which was shot out as she tried to flee the Nova festival. Her best friend, Gaya Halifa, 24, lies dying in front of her.
Meirav tells her daughter, ‘Romichoo, I’m with you sweetheart,’ but Romi can only respond: ‘Hello? Mummy?’
Survivors released in November have told how Romi, who was shot in the arm as tried to take Gaya’s pulse, was left unable to move her hand.
Yarden said: ‘My heart can no longer contain the worry, the longing, the physical need to hug her and protect her.
‘I’m not giving up on her, not now, not ever. For me, she is not just a face or a story – she is my little sister.
‘I feel like I’m getting lost between the days, the minutes, the hours. Those who don’t know her, don’t understand who she really is.
‘She is the one with the legendary stories – what’s illogical always happens to her. But she always turns things around, even in the most surprising moments.’
Hundreds gathered in the blistering heat for Romi at the Peres Peace Centre in Jaffa, named after former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres who won the Nobel Peace prize for the Oslo accords.
‘We chose this place as it symbolises Peace.’
‘We are fighting pure evil, it’s not the Palestinians, it’s Hamas, they are all around the world and we are doing this fight for everyone.’
41 of the 115 hostages are believed to be dead and some hostages who were released as part of a November ceasefire agreement have testified to sexual abuse and torture.
For the families, it’s been torture. Meirav was on the phone with her daughter for nearly an hour on October 7 before she heard the terrorists approaching.
She was forced to listen helplessly as they opened up the car and debated whether to kill her and Ofir Tzarfati, 27, who she was with in the back of the car.
They are then heard dragging Romi and throwing her into a car which took the waitress to Gaza alongside Ofir.
Hamas released a sickening photo of Ofir’s corpse on the first day of renewed ceasefire talks this week as part of psychological mind games.
They claimed he was shot in captivity but he was likely already dead when taken and the IDF recovered his body in November.
His mother, Richelle, said: ‘After ten and a half months of a difficult and painful war, Hamas has chosen today to release a photo of Ofir. I choose not to look at the image Hamas published.’
International mediators are pushing for Israel and Hamas to bridge the final gaps to finally get a deal done in Doha this week in the most intensive negotiations for months.
Released hostages from the November ceasefire deal have said they saw Romi who was in a bad shape with her injured arm. She had been shot as she reached her right hand forward to try and take Gaya’s pulse.
Families of hostages have been protesting in Tel Aviv every Saturday since Oct 7th to pressurise Netanyahu’s government for a deal.
Delegations from Israel, USA, Qatar and Egypt – Hamas refuse to attend – are engaged in ceasefire talks which will release the hostages and bring about the end to the war in Gaza.
‘I’m asking every day – who are we as a society if we don’t do all we can to bring home each and every hostage? I’ve been waiting for 8 months for my own birthday wish to come true, and today more than ever, I wish for her and all the others to be here with us at home. We must not miss this opportunity,’ Says Yarden.
‘I will remain strong, we have to be optimistic, this is a true fight, the fight for human life. Please make sure with us that they come back as soon as possible,’ pleads Meirav.