Canadian cousin of freed Oct. 7 hostage grateful for resolution

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The Canadian cousin of Romi Gonen, one of the first three Israeli hostages freed by Hamas under the new Gaza ceasefire on Sunday, said the family is thankful to be finally free from more than a year of “agonizing torment and uncertainty.”

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Gonen, 24, was among the first captives Hamas militants abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, pulling her from her car as she tried to escape the Nova Music Festival with a bullet wound.

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She would spend the next 471 in captivity.

After a media availability Sunday afternoon in Toronto, her cousin, Maureen Leshe, issued the following statement:

Today, my heart is filled with immense gratitude and relief that my 24-year-old cousin, Romi Gonen, has finally been freed from Hamas captivity and reunited with her family in Israel.

We are grateful to at last be liberated from 15 months of agonizing torment and uncertainty — a grueling path that has pushed us beyond our limits, both physically and emotionally. Hope became our greatest source of power, as well as our heaviest burden. It has been an exhausting and punishing experience that I would NOT wish on anyone.

I am deeply grateful to every single person who embraced Romi and stood by us in our fight for her freedom — everyone who followed her plight closely, shared her story widely, sent heartfelt messages of hope, and prayed tirelessly for her safe return. I am thankful for every person who recognized and validated the undeniable truth of what she has endured.

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We know that the Romi who is returning to us, is not the same vibrant, joyful young woman who was stolen from us on Oct 7th. We will need to get to know a new version of Romi, and that breaks my heart. She has been subjected to incomprehensible cruelty and trauma at the hands of Hamas — more than we can possibly fathom — but we are ready for what lies ahead. This moment is not an end — it is a beginning.

And today, we begin the hard work of helping Romi heal and rediscover herself — a daunting but essential task that we, as her family and community, are prepared to face together.

This is an extraordinary moment that proves each of us have the power to stand up against injustice, against all odds.

I’ve often been told “you cannot save the whole world” but I’m here to tell you, we can — and we must. Every single life we saved today is an entire world filled with dreams and potential, and loved ones who are desperate to bring them home and give them the care they deserve.

And we must remember that there are still 94 hostages trapped in Hamas captivity — among them, Canadian citizen Judih Weinstein, a 2-year-old toddler and a 5-year-old child — in urgent need of rescue. We must speak up and demand their freedom, too. What kind of world do we create if we fail to fight for the innocent?

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