Hostage survivor Romi Gonen posted today (Tuesday) on her Instagram account, opening a window into her recovery journey since being released from Hamas captivity. Three months after her first surgery and with another one on the horizon, she has been documenting, through photos and videos, her gradual return to standing, walking, and even going down stairs – one step at a time.
“Three months of intensive rehabilitation,” she wrote. “Encounters with soldiers and civilians injured in body and spirit. Everyone lifting each other up, encouraging, and most of all – supporting one another.”
רומי גונן לומדת ללכת | צילום: מתוך האינסטגרם של רוני גונן pic.twitter.com/vlxZgIRspl
— דסק רגע (@deskrega) May 27, 2025
“We’re not okay – but we will be”
Alongside these moments of progress, Gonen also opens up about the pain: “The road is still so long, and sometimes your strength runs out. So much frustration, emotional breakdowns, and disappointment.”
She speaks with honesty about the guilt she feels toward the hostages still held in Gaza: “How can I even begin to heal when I’m here and they’re still there?”
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“A year from now – I’ll say the nightmare is over”
She ends her post on a hopeful note: “I’m sure that a year from today I’ll post and write that finally, thank God – the hostages and soldiers are home, my arm is functioning, and the physical nightmare is behind me.”
Until then, she asks for only one thing: “Don’t make assumptions. Don’t judge. Just love us – with unconditional love.”
