Former Gaza hostages Gali and Ziv Berman gave their first interview since their release to N12 News in New York on Tuesday, opening up about their transition back to normal life in Israel, relationships with other released hostages, and the Israel-Gaza deal that led to their release.
"It's a big change, but this is our moment to start life anew," Gali told N12. "Slowly, we have a family that surrounds us, friends, and we have each other. There's nothing more important than that. We have each other - that is our strength."
According to Ziv, the released hostages have bonded over their unique experiences, elaborating that “everyone has their own story, but we were all ultimately in the same place. We came together under unfortunate circumstances, but there is a connection, there is a common denominator.”
Delegation of freed hostages set to visit Washington DC on Thursday
The Bermans and a delegation of 16 other released hostages are set to meet with United States President Donald Trump on Thursday.
In reference to the upcoming meeting, the twins told N12 that they plan to thank him for the Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal that led to their release. "He has always supported us, the entire war, the US supported us,” they said. “We want to tell him to continue to support the struggle and help the State of Israel."
They also addressed Trump’s recent decision to approve the sale of dozens of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, telling N12 that “he is now going to bring the Saudis F-35s, but that does not mean that he will not continue to help us.”
The Bermans concluded the interview with a call to release the last three hostages whose remains are still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
“Real reconstruction will begin when everyone returns,” they told N12. “Right now, our reconstruction is private - but real reconstruction, as a country, will only begin when the last of the hostages returns."