JERUSALEM, Jan 19, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Three women hostages held by militants in 
the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months are on Sunday to become the first 
freed under a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Here are their short profiles:

- Romi Gonen, 24 -

Romi Gonen, from northern Israel, was among dozens captured when Hamas 
fighters ambushed the Supernova rave festival and killed 364 people on 
October 7, 2023.

During the attack, from which she attempted to flee by car, Gonen phoned her 
mother Merav Leshem Gonen, who tried to comfort her above the din of 
explosions.

The car was later found empty and Romi's phone was traced to Gaza.

A talented dancer and choreographer, she suffered hand injuries, according to 
her mother who said she received the information from freed hostages.

- Emily Damari, 28 -

Damari, whose father is Israeli, was born in Israel after her British mother, 
Mandy, moved there. She grew up in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz community near 
Israel's southern border with Gaza.

Damari was at home there when Hamas gunmen stormed her house, injuring her 
hands and legs in the process.

Her beloved dog Choocha was killed by a gunshot to the neck, according to 
Damari's mother.

Mandy Damari had said in October that she feared Emily had been forgotten.

- Doron Steinbrecher, 31 -

The veterinary nurse was also kidnapped from Kfar Aza.

On the day of the attack, Steinbrecher left a message for her parents telling 
them she had been abducted.

An Israeli-Romanian dual national, she appeared with two other hostages in a 
video released by Hamas in January, 2024.

"My life stopped on the 7th of October," her mother Simona Steinbrecher said 
in July. "I know she is alone there and I cannot help her."