As Israeli twins Ziv and Gali Berman mark their 28th birthday in captivity on Wednesday — their second since being kidnapped to Gaza from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 — their close-knit group of friends is quietly commemorating the day while continuing their public campaign for the brothers’ release.

Known to their loved ones as inseparable, Ziv and Gali are not only the best of friends but also deeply connected to — and the center of — their childhood circle in Kfar Aza. Ziv, the more quiet and reserved twin, and also the funny one, and Gali, the loud, extroverted and charming one, complement one another and gravitate toward each other, friends say. But testimonies from released hostages suggest that the two have been separated from each other while in captivity.

Their birthday, said Inbar Rosenfeld, a lifelong friend of the twins, “makes us stop for a moment and remember, and get a sense of the time that they haven’t been here — and this is the second birthday [in captivity.]”

“It’s crazy, it’s tough — we never thought we would get to this situation,” Rosenfeld told Jewish Insider on Tuesday.

At the request of the Berman family, their friends have chosen to forgo large public events to mark the occasion this year. Instead, they are flooding social media with messages and appearing in traditional media to amplify the call for the twins’ release. The hope is that, somehow, those efforts will reach Gali and Ziv. “To show they are still with us and we are doing everything for them,” said Rosenfeld. Former hostages have shared that media coverage and visible solidarity gave them strength during captivity.

“We hope they are keeping up their spirits and are still optimistic, and we hope that we are managing to convey to them good energy from what we are doing from afar,” Rosenfeld said.

Nineteen residents of Kfar Aza were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Twelve of them were released in the first hostage deal in November 2023, after which members of the kibbutz launched an ongoing campaign for the return of the remaining seven. Emily Damari — whose house Gali rushed to on Oct. 7 so she wouldn’t be alone — Doron Steinbrecher and Keith Siegel were released in a ceasefire deal at the beginning of the year. Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz were mistakenly killed by Israeli fire in December 2023. The Berman twins are the last two residents of the kibbutz still held in Gaza.

A message shared by the Berman family on Wednesday said,  “Our beloved Gali and Ziv, how we feared this day would come—a second birthday in hell. You are 28 years old today, though we’re not sure you even know it. We watch videos from past birthdays, from the normal world, and our hearts break. You were surrounded by your closest friends, celebrating in your vibrant neighborhood, drawing everyone to you like magnets. Eating, drinking, being carefree. You have lost your freedom and control over your own lives.”

“We imagine that you have been reunited, that you are embracing each other, encouraging and strengthening one another. We know you don’t understand how you can still be there, or when you will be free again,” it continued. “We promise you this will happen – you will return to the safe embrace of your mother. Hold on just a little longer, survive, and dream of a happy ending. We are calling out: Enough! End this endless war that exacts such a heavy price in hostages and soldiers.”

The  campaign for the hostages from Kfar Aza has included printing T-shirts with the hostages’ names, the distribution of magnets, hats, pins, bracelets and bags, and various events, including a beach footvolley tournament and a second-hand clothing sale organized with celebrities. Rosenfeld, a fitness trainer, has also held special workout sessions dedicated to the hostages.

“There is one goal, to spread and reach each and every person so that they get to know Gali and Zivi,” Rosenfeld explained. “Not just by name and not just by the title of ‘the hostages.’ But so that they really get to know and connect with them.”

Ido Felus, another close friend of the twins from Kfar Aza, said that their second birthday in captivity fills him with a mix of pain and perseverance. “I am sure they are coming back, I have no doubt of that,” Felus told JI.

“Both of them have the best hearts I know,” Felus told JI. “They both love life. They’re different but also very similar. They’re very sociable people, they have so many friends — you could talk to any one and they would tell you about their strong relationship with them because this is the kind of people they are.”

“I can’t believe this is their second birthday in captivity but it gives me more drive to continue to fight so that they can be here.” Felus noted, “We go through so much every day … and they are still stuck in Oct. 7, still in that sense of fear, chaos, probably very hungry.”

Both Felus and Rosenfeld said they try not to get caught up in media reports about hostage negotiations, instead choosing to stay focused on their grassroots advocacy.

“I’ve learned that until they’re here I won’t be calm, so of course I see the reports, but I will believe it when I see the picture of true victory — of both of them hugging their mother, Talia,” Felus said. 

“And until then I will continue full force — we won’t normalize it [their captivity].”

Felus also underscored the importance of support from Jews around the world: “We know we can’t do anything without you … you really give us so much strength until we see Gali and Zivi here at home.”

“And if this somehow reaches Gali and Zivi,” he added, “You know that I love you and we’ll do everything to bring you home.”