On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a cross‑border assault from Gaza, killing about 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages, including twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, then 26, from Kfar Aza. After two years of captivity marked by separation, beatings and deprivation, the brothers were driven out of Gaza on Oct. 13, 2025. They learned that over 60 of Kfar Aza’s 1,000 residents were killed and about 19 abducted. Reunited with their mother Talia and father in Beit Guvrin, they spent their first week at a hospital before visiting their father, who suffers from advanced Parkinson’s disease and dementia. The brothers also reconnected with friend Emily Damari, who had been freed earlier and later married Danielle Amit. They danced at her wedding and were able to mourn fallen friends, including Alon Shimriz, a childhood friend killed in a mistaken Israeli strike. Their freedom felt incomplete until the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last captive, were recovered less than two weeks later, finally ending the hostage saga for many Israelis.
The journey back to normalcy remains ongoing as Gali studies law, governance and diplomacy, while Ziv navigates a new relationship with a survivor of the music‑festival attack. Their story illustrates the profound personal toll of the Oct. 7 violence and the enduring quest for closure.
The brothers’ experience underscores the broader trauma faced by Israel, where the third anniversary of the deadliest day in the nation’s history is marked by both remembrance and the struggle to rebuild lives shattered by war.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing