My name is Noga Weiss. I’m 18 years old. I survived 50 days as a Hamas hostage in Gaza. My father, Ilan Weiss, was murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, while defending our home in Kibbutz Be’eri. His body was taken into Gaza and is still being held there.
I came back. He never had the chance. And until those held by Hamas come home, both the living and the dead, none of us are truly free.
On the morning of Oct. 7, we awoke to sirens, and my father, deputy commander of our kibbutz emergency team, left to protect the community he loved. “I’ll be back soon,” he told us. He never returned.
Terrorists stormed our home. I watched them take my mother. Then I heard gunshots from outside. I was just a teenager, hiding under the bed, holding my breath, trying not to move. Then they lit the house on fire. Smoke poured into the room. I couldn’t breathe. I made a decision no young woman should ever have to make: I chose to run, even if it meant being shot.
I was caught, tied up, dragged past the lifeless bodies of my neighbors, and then taken to Gaza.
That moment marked the beginning of 50 days in hell — 50 days of fear, humiliation, and darkness. I woke up every morning afraid that maybe today they would turn on us. I went to sleep feeling like I might not wake up in the morning and woke up feeling like I might not make it to the end of the day.
Then, 14 days in, I saw my mother again. She had been moved to the same house. That moment saved me. She was still alive. I wasn’t alone.
One day, a captor brought a ring and said he wanted to marry me, to make me the mother of his children. He told me I would never leave and no one cared about me. But he was wrong. I wasn’t forgotten. After 50 days in captivity, my mother and I were released — a miracle.
When I came back, I learned the horrific truth. My father had been murdered, and his body had been taken. We still cannot bury him. This pain never leaves. I came back to life, but my heart is still in captivity. I cannot grieve. I cannot begin to heal. Not while my father is still held hostage — along with 58 other beautiful souls. Many are alive. Some are not. But they are all waiting to come home.
This is not about politics. This is about humanity. This is about a basic truth: No one should be left behind.
President Donald Trump, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do to help bring hostages home. You helped free so many in the past months; you’ve used your voice when it mattered and stood publicly and proudly with their families. You made it clear that every hostage matters — that their lives are not forgotten, and their freedom must remain a priority. You’ve made a difference before. Your voice can help bring them all home; our hope lies with you.
Every minute we wait is a risk. I survived 50 days, but the remaining hostages have been there for more than 530. They’re suffering in conditions I can’t even describe, and each day that passes, I worry more that they won’t make it. Their families want to hug them again. For me and the other families whose loved ones were murdered, it’s a different kind of pain. We know we’ll never get to hug them again, but we’re terrified that there may be nothing left to bring back if this goes on any longer.
My father, Ilan, was the kindest, strongest man I’ve ever known. He loved cycling through the open fields of our kibbutz, his espresso in the morning, and his cold beer at night. Most of all, he loved us, his family.
He died the way he lived: protecting others. And if he had to do it all over again, knowing he would die, I believe he still would have gone. That was the kind of man he was.
I would go through the fire again, through the fear, through the captivity — just to have one more day with him. But I can’t. What I can do is fight for him to come home. So I can bury him. So I can say goodbye. So I can cry where his body lies and know he is at peace.
Several months after my release, I enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces — not because I’m fearless, but because I refuse to let fear define me. I want to make a difference and help bring everyone home, but I can’t do this alone.
President Trump, I am turning to you because I know you care, and the world listens when you speak. You understand strength, loyalty, and what it means to fight for your people.
NETANYAHU ARRIVES IN DC, MEETS WITH LUTNICK AMID TRUMP TARIFFS
Please help bring them home. Help bring my father home so I can give him the dignified burial he deserves. Help bring all the hostages home so their families can breathe again. Help us end this nightmare.
I’m 18 years old. I lived through something no one should. I came back. I’m here. I’m breathing. But I will only truly live again when they all return.
Noga Weiss was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and held captive in Gaza for 50 days.