Romi Gonen's sister: "She went through hell, she did everything to survive"

Yarden Gonen, sister of freed hostage Romi Gonen who returned to Israel after 471 days in Hamas captivity with Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher, was interviewed on Channel 12 News and spoke about her sister's condition.

"Remember all the time I told you that Romi would do anything to survive and that she was strong?" she told the hosts. "So she's strong, and she's done everything she can to survive. She told us: 'I knew you'd get me out of here, I did everything to get out of here alive.'"

Yarden added: "She was exposed to very little television, she got to hear some of us. When she came back she said, 'Dad, I'm back alive,' she heard our father say in every interview that Romi was coming back alive. That's our family motif, she heard it and it kept her going."

Yarden was asked what she was going to do now, and she responded: "To accompany my sister in the long rehabilitation process that awaits her. Romi is fine in her own right, but she went through hell and has a long rehabilitation. My ultimate goal is to keep pressing until the last hostage is released."

When asked how horrible her stories are, she replied: "99.9%. "We are talking about being captured by a terrorist organization, you can't expect anything less than that. Luckily, beyond being strong, she wasn't alone. She was with Emily and they have a friendship that you can only dream of. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer issued a statement at the beginning of the week that hostages who were held together came out in better health, this is the lesson of the people of Israel."