2025’s first babies born in shadow of the war, with joy accompanied by hopes for hostages
Around the country, the first babies usher in the new year; one father leaves reserve duty to greet his newborn son in Tiberias
Reporter at The Times of Israel

Soon after Israel welcomed the new year at midnight — and shortly after the Hamas terror group fired rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip — the
first babies born in 2025 made their debut in hospitals around the country, still in the shadow of war.
Dor Hershkowitz of Haspin, in the Golan Heights, left reserve duty to greet his newborn son at Tzafor Medical Center located just south of Tiberias, and his wife, Michal.
The baby was born at 2:50 a.m., weighing 3.720 kg (8.2 lbs), joining his two older siblings, Yuval and Arbel.
“I didn’t think I’d give birth right at the start of the new year, and there’s something magical about it,” said Michal.
Along with wishing that 2025 will bring “many healthy babies,” Michal said she hoped for the end of the war, “and the safe return of all the captives to their homes.”
When Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, they killed 1,200 and kidnapped 251 hostages, mostly civilians, into Gaza. There are 96 who remain in captivity.

At the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, Orel Miral Ohana who gave birth to a daughter weighing 3.240 kg (7.14 lbs) at 2:28 a.m. said, “I received a wonderful gift for my 30th birthday.”
A former Nahariya resident, Ohana said she traveled from Jerusalem, where she lives, to give birth at the hospital because “the staff is so kind that it’s worth making the journey.”
During the war with Hezbollah, the hospital’s maternity ward had been moved to an underground facility. Since the temporary ceasefire that began on November 27, the ward has returned to its original location.
Despite the joy she felt, Ohana said the war was on her mind.
“It’s a wonderful feeling and a sense of a new beginning,” she said. “But I so desperately want the hostages to come home.”

In Beersheva, Brit and Matan Ben-David’s son was the first baby born in 2025 at Soroka Medical Center.
This is the couple’s third child.
“We hope the new baby will bring even more color to our lives,” Brit said, referring to her two other children, named Kahol and Argaman (blue and magenta). She added that she hoped the new year would be filled with “unity and positive news because we all need that.”
Efrat and Roy Gilboa Menashe, residents of Rosh HaAyin, welcomed their first baby, who was also the first baby born at Beilinson Hospital in 2025.
The newborn boy weighed 2.873 kilograms (6.33 lbs) and was born at 1:50 a.m.
“There’s something so special about starting the year holding a sweet and wonderful baby in your arms,” said Mayson Issa, the midwife who accompanied the couple during the delivery.
There were 181,000 babies born in Israel throughout 2024, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.