'My community was butchered': An Israeli man's fight to liberate his brothers from Hamas

Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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Liran Berman holds a poster of his brothers Gali and Ziv, who were taken hostage during the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
Liran Berman holds a poster of his brothers Gali and Ziv, who were taken hostage during the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

More than a month after Hamas militants kidnapped more than 200 Israelis, Liran Berman still doesn't know if his twin brothers are alive.

Berman awoke at 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 7 in his home in Zichron Yaakov, in northern Israel, to the sound of sirens and immediately texted his parents and three brothers in the Kfar Aza kibbutz to make sure they were locked in their safe rooms – standard protocol for the residents of the farming community about three miles from the Gaza Strip.

"In the early morning of Saturday, we thought it was just a missile attack," Berman told USA TODAY. "It would be over in an hour or two, and we would continue with our lives."

Three hours after the sirens first sounded, the day became an unending nightmare when his 26-year-old brothers Gali and Ziv disappeared.

Berman is among many people awaiting news of their family members among the 240 Israelis captured in an attack that sparked the worst escalation in the conflict in 50 years.

“I’m doing whatever I can,” Berman said. “I’m not functioning as a husband, I’m not functioning as a father.”

Berman left his wife and two children in Israel this week to meet with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, more than two dozen members of Congress, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Berman has not received word about the state of his brothers since the IDF informed him 10 days after the attack that they were "99.99%" sure the pair were among the hostages. “We don’t know if they are together, injured, alive,” he said.

Berman met with members of Congress to plead for their help to secure the release of his brothers.
Berman met with members of Congress to plead for their help to secure the release of his brothers.

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'We will never be the same again'

On the morning of the attack, Berman learned of the unfolding nightmare from miles away through frantic group texts and calls. Scenes of destruction, shared with Berman over social media and in group texts, still haunt him.

“My community was butchered,” Berman said. “We will never be the same again.”

Ziv and Gali, fun-loving twins who he said would brighten every room they entered, traveled the world for their work in the music industry, Berman said.

"They were – They are 26," Berman said, correcting himself. "These are the best years of their life."

Following the attack, Berman's parents waited in their safe room for 18 hours before IDF officials rescued them. The convoy of soldiers rushed them through the dark of night on foot. One soldier pushed Berman's father, 64, in his wheelchair as bombs and explosions resounded around them.

Soldiers urged the couple to stay silent and press on without stopping, Berman said. The area was surrounded by attackers, they said, which was evident from the explosions close by.

IDF members did not pull Berman's third brother, who is 32, from the safe room of his home until the afternoon of the following day.

Berman learned his brothers were taken hostage 10 days after the Oct. 7 attack.
Berman learned his brothers were taken hostage 10 days after the Oct. 7 attack.

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Negotiations to free hostages continue

Since the start of the war, more than 1,400 Israelis have died and the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 Palestinians.

As Israel's aerial bombardment of Gaza continues, Berman trusts his brothers won't be harmed. “I have complete confidence in the IDF,” he said.

In negotiations between the two sides, Israel has refused a complete ceasefire until all 240 hostages are released.

Just four hostages have been released, while the conditions and well-being of the others remain unknown.

Berman's meeting with Congress and media members was facilitated by the Voice for Freedom Coalition, a group of over 350 Zionist Christian organizations. The American Center for Law and Justice, a "powerful" member of the coalition headed by conservative talk show host and former Trump legal counsel Jay Sekulow, helped to coordinate some family members' appearance at the press conference.

The group has called on Congress members to push Qatar for an immediate unconditional release of the hostages. It is also asking Congress to defund the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, a U.N. organization that currently shelters more than half of the population of the Gaza Strip, according to the WHO.

The politics are not important to Berman, he said, but he hopes negotiations would secure the release of all hostages.

“Ten, fifteen is a blessing for their families, but there is more than 200," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hamas still has Israeli hostages: One man's fight to free his brothers