Former hostage twins ahead of Trump meeting: ‘We’ll thank him, ask him to keep going’

Ahead of their meeting at the White House, freed hostages Ziv and Gali Berman said they would thank US President Donald Trump for securing their release and tell him that the fight must go on until the bodies of the final three hostages held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip are released.

Trump is set to meet the 20 Israeli hostages released in last month’s Gaza ceasefire deal at the White House on Thursday.

Interviewed in New York on Tuesday ahead of the Washington visit, Ziv Berman told Channel 12 that his message to Trump will be: “Thank you, and let’s not stop, let’s keep going.”

“He always supported us. The entire war, the US supported us and the State of Israel,” Gali Berman said.

“It is true that he is now going to give F-35s to the Saudis, but that does not mean that he will not continue to help us. We want to tell him to continue to support the fight and help the State of Israel,” Gali said, referring to the recently announced deal between Washington and Riyadh for the purchase of stealth fighter jets.

“There are still hostages there, and we are here to convey the message that we need to bring them back,” he said, referring to Dror Or, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak.

Gali and Ziv Berman were taken hostage by terrorists from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023. They were released after two years in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

The brothers said that the shared experiences of the hostages have turned them all into a kind of large family.

“We came together under unfortunate circumstances, but there is a connection, there is a common denominator,” Ziv Berman said.

“Everyone has their own story — one was held here, another was held there. But ultimately we were all in the same place, in Gaza, held in captivity and under the control of people and terrorists,” Gali Berman said.

Ziv said that it was a “big change” to be in New York so soon after his release from captivity, “but even going out in Tel Aviv is a big change after we were in Gaza.”

Gali noted that they were reacclimating to life with the help of their loved ones.

“We are surrounded by family and friends, and we have each other. There’s nothing more important than that,” he said. The twins were held separately in Gaza, and completely cut off from the outside world during their captivity.

“But real rehabilitation will only begin when everyone returns. Right now, our rehabilitation is private, but the real rehabilitation, as a country, will only begin when the last of the hostages is back,” Ziv said.

“Am Yisrael Chai” [the People of Israel live], we love you,” the brothers said in a final message to the Israeli public.