Jerusalem, 15 October, 2025 (TPS-IL) — A video released Wednesday showed President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, visiting twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman after their release from more than two years of captivity in Gaza.
In a video shared on his X account, Herzog warmly greeted the brothers at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer, praising their “exceptional” family for its tireless advocacy and telling them how deeply the nation followed their ordeal.
Gali told the president that the twins were held separately and had no idea they would be reunited upon their release. “We didn’t know where [the other twin] was. Suddenly, they brought him out,” he said, describing their emotional reunion.
“The twins, Gali and Ziv Berman, entered the hearts of an entire nation,” Herzog wrote on X. “We were thrilled to see them finally together, protected and surrounded by their loving family.” He added that Israel is still “waiting for everyone” to return—referring to the hostages and the bodies of those still held in Gaza.
The 28-year-old brothers were abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
התאומים גלי וזיו ברמן נכנסו ללבבות של עם שלם.
התרגשנו לראות אותם סוף סוף יחד, מוגנים ומוקפים במשפחתם האוהבת ובצוותי הרפואה של המרכז הרפואי שיבא תל השומר.מחכים לכולם. pic.twitter.com/847J6fibqb
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) October 15, 2025
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli army said one of the bodies returned from Gaza overnight was a Palestinian from Gaza, not one of the hostages. It wasn’t clear if Hamas made a mistake or if the body was sent deliberately. The Iran-backed terror group has not commented.
The National Center of Forensic Medicine confirmed the identities of three other hostages as Staff Sgt. tamir nimrodi and civilians Uriel Baruch and Eitan Levy.
Unlike Monday’s handover, Hamas did not specify the names of the dead.
In February, a body purporting to be Shiri Bibas was returned to Israel along with her two children, but a forensic examination determined that the body was a Palestinian. Terrorists murdered the sons, Ariel and Kfir with their bare hands, then mutiltated the bodies to make it look like they were killed in an airstrike. Hamas released Shiri’s remains the next day.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hamas is obligated to return the bodies of all the hostages — currently 23 — still in Gaza. It is believed Hamas will hand over more remains on Wednesday.
The recovery of missing Israeli bodies is being coordinated through Qatari, Turkish, and Egyptian mediators. Officials warn that locating and identifying all the remains will take time, as some are thought to be buried in unmarked graves or trapped beneath collapsed buildings. Hamas claims to know the locations of 14 of the 28 hostages confirmed killed, but Israeli security officials believe the terror group holds information than it has let on.
Around 1,200 people killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were abducted on Oct. 7, 2023.
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