October 7 · Personal story
Gali Berman
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Kfar Aza
Current outcome
Released alive · October 13, 2025
Released alive on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity under the negotiated agreement.
01
Life before October 7
Gali Berman grew up in Kibbutz Kfar Aza with his twin brother Ziv. The two lived in apartments across from one another and were known to family as close, though not identical in temperament. Their brother Liran described Gali as outgoing and helpful: a friend who might drive hours to help someone with a household task. Before October 7, Gali worked with Ziv at a sound company and followed football, including Liverpool and Maccabi Tel Aviv. He also had a long friendship with Emily Damari, a neighbor in the community.
02
Abduction
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Emily Damari called Gali and asked him to come because she was frightened. He went to her home and sent his mother a quick photograph of them together. Armed men took them from the house. Gali was among the residents abducted from Kfar Aza that morning. His twin Ziv was taken separately from his own home. The brothers did not know what had happened to each other.
03
Captivity
For the first six months, Gali and Ziv were held in separate places and neither knew whether the other had survived. In their N12 interview reported on January 4, 2026, Gali described being moved to a room with a camera and microphone before Ziv was brought in. They embraced for almost ten minutes and were held together for only two days before being separated again. By February 2025, their family had heard from returned hostages that the twins were alive but still held separately. Gali kept a list of likes and dislikes, memories, and things he wanted to do after release. He hid it in his clothing and brought it out of captivity. Their mother Talia told N12 that she had avoided the media while her sister Maccabit led the public campaign for the twins.
04
Return
Gali returned alive on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity under the negotiated agreement that brought the living hostages home. He reunited with Ziv and their family in Israel. The twins came home together after nearly two years apart.
05
After the return
In November 2025, Gali and Ziv spoke to N12 in New York about rebuilding their lives. Gali said family, friends, and having each other were their strength as they began again. A photograph published with the report shows the brothers arriving together at their home in Kibbutz Beit Guvrin on October 19. In the January 2026 interview, their family recalled the twins leaving hospital: their father Doron looked from one son to the other as though he could not believe they were there. Maccabit said she still pinched the twins and herself to make sure it was real. Gali also showed the list he had hidden in his clothes, carrying his memories and plans home with him.