Free at last! Agam Berger released from Hamas captivity
JERUSALEM – At around 10:00 a.m. local time Thursday, Agam Berger was released from Hamas captivity as part of the ceasefire shakedown, which along with the later release of Arbel Yahoud and Gadi Mozes, and five Thai workers, will result in the freedom of some 110 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, some of them imprisoned for murdering multiple people. She was held in total for some 482 days, since her abduction on Oct. 7, 2023 from the Nahal Oz military base.
“Footage from Agam Berger’s release, after over a year of captivity, alone and surrounded by hundreds of terrorists who use her for theater and propaganda, while hiding behind masks and children themselves.”
– @GAZAWOOD1 pic.twitter.com/4l7BtF9kvG
— Imtiaz Mahmood (@ImtiazMadmood) January 30, 2025
Like her recently released colleagues – Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniela Gilboa, and Karina Ariev – Berger was subjected to a Hamas media circus, as she was led down a narrow walkway with a camera in her face, while led out and flanked by masked men carrying automatic rifles, who were wearing black uniforms and balaclavas, as well as the terrorist group’s green bandana. As part of the game-playing, Hamas released Berger to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jabaliya in the Strip’s north, although it is thought to release some of the remaining hostages due to be set free today in Khan Yunis in the south, close to where the organization’s former leader Yahya Sinwar met his end.
Berger was reunited with her relieved and delighted family near the border, and will undergo psychological and physical assessment at an as-yet undisclosed hospital.
“Thank God we have reached this moment and our heroine Agam has returned to us after 482 days in the hands of the enemy,” the family said in a statement after the reunion. “Our girl is strong, believing and brave.”
“We would like to thank the security forces and the entire people of Israel for all the support and prayers,” added the family’s statement.
The Government of Israel is committed to returning all of the hostages and the missing.
“And I will return the captivity of My people Israel.” (Amos 9:14)
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 30, 2025
Dr. Lena Koren Feldman, director of Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital, told Israel’s Channel 12 News the four IDF soldiers kidnapped alongside Berger and who were released by Hamas on Saturday screamed with excitement when they saw her being freed.
Released hostages Liri, Naama, Karina and Daniella watching their friend Agam make her way home.
This is sisterhood pic.twitter.com/K7N7KLHLeR— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 30, 2025
As a postscript, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who is in Israel and Gaza to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire and the attendant hostage “deal” has reportedly requested an opportunity to meet with the four female IDF spotters who were released on Saturday.