For Twin Brothers Abducted in the Oct. 7 Attacks, Adjusting to Freedom Is a New Challenge

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.

2023年10月7日，哈马斯从加沙发起跨境攻击，杀害约1200人，扣抚约250人质，其中包括当时26岁的双胞胎兄弟格利和齐夫·贝曼，他们来自卡法尔阿扎。经过两年的囚禁，期间经历了分离、殴打和剥夺，兄弟俩于2025年10月13日被驱离加沙。他们得知卡法尔阿扎的1000名居民中有超过60人遇难，约有19人被劫持。与母亲塔利亚和父亲团聚后，他们在贝特古夫林的医院度过了第一周，随后探访了患有晚期帕金森病和痴呆症的父亲。兄弟俩还与友友埃米莉·达马里重聚，她之前已被释放，并后来与丹妮埃尔·阿米特结婚。他们在她的婚礼上跳舞，并得以为遇难的朋友——在一次误击的以色列空袭中丧生的童年友友阿隆·希姆里兹——举行葬礼。直到不到两周后，最后一位被扣抚的囚犯上尉拉恩·格维利的遗体被找到，他们的自由才真正感觉完整，为许多以色列人结束了这场人质危机。