(NewsNation) — Six months have passed since Hamas terrorists charged into Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200 others.
As of this week, 134 hostages are still being held, 100 of whom are presumed to be alive. Families of hostages are meeting with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urging President Joe Biden’s administration to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike a deal to free their loved ones.
Among those waiting is Yarden Goden, whose 20-year-old sister, Romi Gonen, was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, from the Novi Music Festival and remains held by Hamas six months later.
Romi Goden was to be among the 100 hostages released as part of a deal struck between the two sides in November, Yarden Gonen said. But Hamas went back on its word to release all of the women it was holding. Romi Goden is among the 19 women still being held, Yarden Goden told NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” Monday, who said that five of those women have been killed by Hamas.
Now, she is urging Netanyahu and the Biden administration to continue to pressure Hamas to release more hostages.
“We have to make that deal happen,” Yarden Goden told NewsNation Monday. “We can’t afford to lose another one of our loved ones to those terrorists who think they control the world.”
Yet, as Yarden holds out hopes that her sister will soon be released, she is convinced that she remains among the living.
“I know she’s alive,” Yarden Goden said. “I know it. I don’t know how to explain it. We’re sisters. I feel my sister. I can feel her. I see (family) videos and it’s such a joy to see her laugh because I can really feel her strength, her fight for her life. I know she’s doing everything in her power to remain alive and to survive even though we have no news about her.”
Yarden Goden says she has received no updates on her sister since day 55 of her capacity. Despite 135 days passing without any news of her sister’s condition, Yarden Goden will continue to rely on her strong intuition that Romi Goden remains living. She also believes that her sister’s spirit will be critical in her survival as the families of hostages await word.
“She really is amazing — she’s a ray of sunshine and she’s illuminating every room she enters,” Yarden Goden said. “So I know she’s doing anything she can for her and others’ survival. I’m sure she’s managing it.”
Despite the lack of updates, Yarden Goden said she has no choice but to put her trust in Netanyahu. But she said the prime minister and other decision-makers have not done enough because the hostages have not been released.
Yarden Goden told NewsNation that ultimately, Netanyahu is the one who must act and treat those being held like family. But she says that other foreign governments must unite and not allow Hamas to become “the new standard of terrorism.”
“He’s the father of Israel,” Yarden said of Netanyahu. “He’s supposed to do anything he can, anything in his power to make them come home. The first mission of every government is to take care of their own civilians. So I put my trust in him, but not only in him. We should all remember this is an international problem.”
She added: “We can’t let terrorism win. We need all the governments of the world to reunite against terrorism and help us release all the hostages as soon as possible so we can show them that this is not how the free world acts.”
