Finding God in Gaza: Former Israeli hostage found faith to help her survive Hamas terror

After 482 days successful Hamas captivity, Agam Berger was yet home. The satellite archetypal saw her successful the horrific footage from Oct. 7, 2023 – bloodied, terrified, alongside 4 different young women soldiers abducted from the Nahal Oz IDF base. The terrorists paraded them done the streets of Gaza arsenic trophies.

At a caller ceremony, held astatine the Yehezkel Synagogue successful Tel Aviv astatine a accepted repast of gratitude to God, Berger made an affectional plea to God for the 59 hostages who stay successful Gaza.

"The surviving and the dead," she said successful a trembling dependable successful the Synagogue, "We won’t remainder until they each return."

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Agam Berger successful tears arsenic she is met by her household pursuing her merchandise from Gaza arsenic portion of the hostages for ceasefire deal. (GPO)

Her mother, Merav Berger, told Fox News Digital, "I began to consciousness God shaking my world." She started keeping the Sabbath successful her daughter's grant – agelong earlier she knew whether her girl was alive. "We grew up traditional, but not religious. Agam didn’t support Shabbat before. But somehow, she recovered God – successful Gaza, of each places."

She said what kept her girl going was religion and identity. "They took her body," she told Israeli media, "but they couldn’t instrumentality her psyche and identity."

She and chap hostage Liri Albag were fixed a vigor during their aboriginal days successful captivity, and told successful an interrogation to Israel nationalist vigor station, "We’d perceive voices—Israelis saying that we were worthy warring for. That gave america strength," she said. "But aft the archetypal hostage rescue, they took the radio. They were much paranoid than ever."

In January 2024, Hamas guards brought them a stack of items recovered from an abandoned Israeli subject outpost: maps, a paper and a Jewish supplication book.

Agam Berger stands with Rabbi Arieh Levin, his woman Rebbetzin Yocheved Levin and her mother, Merav astatine the Yechezkel Synagogue successful Israel. (Photo: Nadav Katz.)

Agam's parent aboriginal revealed that her girl had dreamed of a siddur – a Jewish supplication publication – conscionable days earlier. "Then it arrived," Merav said. "How bash you explicate that? That’s not chance. That’s faith."

With that book, she began marking Jewish time. "We had a ticker astatine first," she told Israeli nationalist radio. "That’s however we knew erstwhile it was Shabbat, erstwhile it was Yom Kippur. I fasted. On Passover, I refused bread. I asked for maize flour—and they brought it. In a unusual way, they respected my religion."

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As the months dragged on, the conditions worsened. Hamas guards rotated often, she said, noting that galore were cruel and others indifferent. She related to the Israeli media that, "They argued with us, scolded america implicit tiny things… we didn’t cognize who we could trust."

She tried to enactment hopeful, telling herself she’d beryllium location earlier her younger brother’s barroom mitzvah. But the time came and went. "That broke me," she admitted successful interviews. She said what kept her unneurotic was her content that it would extremity somehow.

Even arsenic rumors of a hostage woody began to circulate successful aboriginal 2025, she didn’t fto herself hope. "We heard radical talking, but we didn’t deliberation it would hap for us," she said.

A subject parade of the Hamas violent enactment earlier the transportation of 4 Israeli pistillate hostages to the Red Cross connected Jan. 25, 2025. (TPS-IL)

On Jan. 24, Liri Elbag was taken distant to movie a merchandise video. "They told her she was filming a video – but not that she was going home," Agam said. "I waited for her. I had made her day cards. Then idiosyncratic told me, ‘Your friends are already home.’"

The adjacent day, gunfire echoed successful the distance. Her captors dressed her successful a hijab and drove her successful circles for 2 hours. "They didn’t fto maine instrumentality thing – not our notebooks, not the drawings, nothing," she recalled successful an interrogation with Israeli nationalist radio.

Agam’s lack near a gaping spread successful her family, but her siblings carried her strength. Her duplicate sister Liyam remained successful the army, adjacent completing serviceman grooming portion Agam was inactive missing. "She did it for her sister," her parent said.
 

Agam Berger is reunited with her family. (Courtesy: IDF)

Bar, the younger sister, had planned not to enlist. But aft proceeding that Agam had promised her chap hostages she’d instrumentality to her basal aft her release, Bar changed her mind. "Three days aft Agam came home, she graduated from her unit," the Bergers' parent recalled. "She wanted her to transportation it forward."

Now backmost home, Agam is surrounded by friends, visitors and endless attention. But she’s not astatine bid – not portion others stay successful captivity.

In the synagogue this week, Agam made that telephone loudly and publicly. "We won’t rest," she said, "until each psyche – surviving oregon dormant – comes home."

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As her parent enactment it: "This is the Jewish mission. There’s thing much sacred. It’s our close to beryllium – and our rebirth arsenic a radical – depends connected it. 

"God brought Agam home," her parent said. "Now we person a work to bring the others backmost too."