Former hostage Emily Damari on Thursday shared an emotional video of her reunion with twins Gali and Ziv Berman, who were freed earlier this week after spending 738 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, and with whom she has been close friends.
“Gali and Ziv are home. What a relief for my heart, for my soul. There are no words to describe what I feel,” Damari wrote in a post on Instagram. Since her own release in January, Damari has been one of the most vocal advocates for bringing home the remaining hostages. “You are here with us, on Israeli soil. Safe. Protected. Cared for,” she said.
Emily Damari meeting Gali and Ziv Berman
Damari described the reunion as overwhelming. “It’s the complete opposite of where we came from — the inferno,” she wrote. “There you feel so alone and scared. You’re wounded with no care, frustrated with no embrace. And now you’re here, with us.”
She recounted her visit to Sheba Medical Center, where the twins are recovering. “Yesterday I went to Sheba to meet Gali and Ziv, and finally light returned to my face,” Damari said. “I refused to leave. I didn’t want to waste a single second with you. I even got to sleep next to you! I don’t want to go. I just want to breathe you in again and again. We have so much to catch up on.”
Damari described her time in captivity alongside Ziv during her first 40 days in Gaza. “I remember the long nights, how we held onto each other, those deep talks we’d never had before, not even as kids,” she wrote.
“Once, while we were together, the house where they held us collapsed on us. They dressed us in Gazan clothes and rushed us out. It was the first time we saw the sky since the abduction. Then I saw your earring peeking out from under your hijab and was terrified it would give us away. I took it off you quickly, and today I can tell you I kept it until my last day in captivity — it made me feel you were with me all the time. Sadly, on the day I was released, the terrorists took it from me. The earring stayed in Gaza, but we’re here. Free.”
Damari also reflected on the emotional toll of her return to freedom while many hostages remained in Gaza. “Since I came back, my heart hasn’t been whole,” she said. “I went to Maccabi games, but it just wasn’t the same. Even when they won the championship, I felt empty — because no victory is complete when you’re not here with me. Today I can finally say out loud — only now have I truly been freed from captivity. From the captivity of guilt. For the food I ate, the air I breathed, every smile I allowed myself.”
She ended her post with a message of triumph and unity. “And now, seeing you here — free, breathing, smiling — it’s a miracle. It’s life. It’s the brightest light there is. My Gali and Ziv — you are my heroes. We won. We survived. Can you believe it? We’re here together! My heart fills with every breath you take, every smile. From today, we’ll never be apart again. Welcome home, my brothers.”
The Berman twins were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the hardest-hit communities during the Oct. 7 assault. During their 738 days in captivity, no photos or videos of them were released by Hamas. Their freedom came as part of a complex agreement mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
They were released alongside Eitan Mor, Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, Alon Ohel and Guy Gilboa Dalal. In footage of the release, the twins were seen wearing new Maccabi Tel Aviv jerseys, a team they have long supported.
Video shared after their arrival in Israel showed Damari dancing and celebrating their freedom — a moment she had fought for tirelessly since her own release. “I can finally breathe again,” she said. “We’re home.”