What we know about the three latest female Israeli hostages freed in ceasefire deal

After being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people, three female Israeli hostages were released on Monday.

Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari are the latest hostages to be released by Hamas as part of Israel’s ceasefire deal. Dozens of terrorists were released in exchange for their freedom. The women claim they were held in a United Nations camp in Gaza.

Here’s what we know about each freed hostage.

The Washington Examiner spoke to Gonen’s mother, Merav Leshem Gonen, on the six-month anniversary of the attack. She pleaded for all parties involved to “make justice and bring back all the hostages.”

She described her daughter as “a sunlight” who is brave, authentic, and strong and “knows how to find the good in people.” She said Romi Gonen is “very smiley and funny, and she doesn’t care a lot about what people think about her because she’s OK with her being clumsy and a little bit funny for her friends.”

“She’s young. She’s beautiful from the inside and outside. She’s the kind of girl you want to have as a close friend,” Merav Leshem Gonen said. “She’s the one that organizes all the birthday parties for her friends to make them happy. She’s the one to come to people to see when they are having a bad day and need a little support or someone to listen to them or need a hug.”

Merav Leshem Gonen told the Washington Examiner that Romi Gonen would dance every week with her elder sister and that she had just moved to Tel Aviv, was working as a waitress, and is loved by her customers.

Romi Gonen was shot in the hand during the Oct. 7 attack at the Nova music festival.

Steinbrecher was taken from her apartment in the kibbutz Kfar Aza. She is a veterinary nurse who studied theater and film in school.

During the terrorist attack, she contacted her family and friends to let them know she was hiding under her bed.

In her final voice message on WhatsApp, she was heard screaming, “They’ve caught me,” amid shouting and gunfire in the background. Her family did not receive any information about her location or condition for nearly four months.

Damari, a British Israeli national, was taken hostage from Kfar Aza during the massacre. She was shot in the attack and lost two fingers as a result. Hamas terrorists shot and killed her dog in front of her.

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Her last contact with her mother, who managed to escape being taken hostage, was a text message containing a single heart emoji. Damari’s mother was only spared because a bullet hit the door handle of the safe room she was hiding in, making it difficult for terrorists to get in.

Damari is the youngest of four children and would often visit the United Kingdom to see her relatives.