COMMUNITY/ACTIVISM

Romi Gonen

Survivor

The 25-year-old former hostage became the face of Hamas's systematic sexual violence when she gave her first public interview weeks after her January 2025 release. Kidnapped at 23 from the Nova music festival after being shot in the arm, Gonen endured 471 days of captivity including repeated sexual assaults by four different men. Hamas Gaza commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad used her and fellow hostage Emily Damari as human shields for 35 days after offering Gonen early release if she stayed silent about her abuse. She lost 22 pounds and suffered severe electrolyte depletion that put her in daily mortal danger. Gonen waited to speak publicly until all living hostages were free so they wouldn't be punished for her testimony—courageous truth-telling that Israeli President Herzog called "heartbreaking" evidence of Hamas's systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.