Twin brothers kidnapped by Hamas are reunited after more than 2 years in captivity

German-Israeli twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman are reunited after being released from Hamas captivity on October 13, 2025. Disclosure/Israel Army German-Israeli twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman were reunited on Monday (13) after being held hostage for more than two years in the Gaza Strip under the group’s power Hamas terrorist. Gali and Ziv were released by Hamas under the terms of the Gaza war peace deal signed with Israel last week and ratified by Donald Trump and other world leaders on Monday. They are among the last 20 living Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian terrorist group and released after more than 700 days in captivity. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp The 28-year-olds were kidnapped in an Israeli border town during the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 — when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killed more than 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage — and held separately in captivity. German-Israeli twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman are reunited after being released from Hamas captivity on October 13, 2025. Disclosure/Israel Army The Israeli Army published photos documenting the moment of reunion after their release. (See above). Another two of the 20 hostages released by Hamas on Monday have dual German-Israeli nationality. The bodies of another 28 hostages are also expected to be returned to Israel under the terms of the peace deal, but as of Monday afternoon it was still unclear when that would occur. “Beginning of healing” Hamas only handed over four of the 28 bodies of dead hostages German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed the release of the live hostages as “the beginning of healing and a step on the path to peace in the Middle East.” “Finally. After 738 days, the hostages return – including the Germans,” Merz wrote in the X. “Two years of fear, pain and hope are behind them. Today, families can finally hug their loved ones again.” “The murdered hostages must also return home so that their families can say goodbye with dignity,” he added. Merz is among world leaders who traveled to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to take part in a signing ceremony to seal the peace deal, three days after the ceasefire came into force. Twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman arrive in Israel in a van after being released by the terrorist group Hamas on October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Berlin has pledged to support the implementation of the US-led peace plan and aims to play a role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. The ceremony at the seaside resort is confirmed to be in attendance by more than a dozen heads of state and government, including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and the President of the European Council, António Costa, also confirmed their presence. The agenda includes the signing of the declaration on the US peace plan by Trump, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The ceremony also includes a brief welcome speech by Al Sisi and a longer speech by Trump. Merz must return to Berlin in the evening. German president welcomes release of hostages German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also welcomed Monday’s events. “After more than two years in brutal captivity, more Hamas hostages are finally returning to Israel today,” Steinmeier said. Steinmeier’s office said the president “has written to the freed German hostages and expressed the hope that they will gradually be able to put the consequences of the violence they have suffered behind them.” Wadephul told radio station “Deutschlandfunk” that the release represented “a moment of joy, but also a moment of apprehension, because, of course, we know that some are, in fact, just returning as corpses.”

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