TEL AVIV – The uncle of twins who miraculously survived 14 hours alone after their parents were killed by Hamas militants in southern Israel described Friday the agonizing hours in which they were unable to reach the infants.
“We literally woke up from hell,” said Dvir Rosenfeld, who lived on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the scene of one of the deadliest scenes when Hamas gunmen crossed into southern Israel from Gaza in the early hours of October 7.
Rosenfeld hid in a shelter with his wife and child. But his sister, Hadar Berdichevsky, was murdered while trying to feed her twins.
Rosenfeld believes she was likely killed when she left her own shelter.
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“I know for a fact that this happened,” Rosenfeld said. “She went out to get the bottles because they said there were bottles on the floor. And when she did that, they just came to her apartment.”
Hadar’s body was found in the kitchen. Her husband, Itay Berdichevsky, was found between the beds of their 10-month-old babies, who survived.
“I know Itay died trying to protect her,” Rosenfeld said. “And I can’t imagine what he went through knowing that his wife had just been murdered, his two sons were next to him, and he was the only one standing between the terrorists and the babies.”
The twins were alone for 14 hours before they were rescued.
“And we got messages from the neighbors,” Rosenfeld said. “You hear the twins crying, crying, crying for 14 hours because they were basically left alone. No food, no water, nothing.”
Rosenfeld explained that no one could leave their quarters and go to the twin babies because Hamas fighters were still waiting outside.
“Their neighbor tried (to reach them) a few times, but each time the terrorists simply entered his house and tried to kill him as well,” Rosenfeld said. “I met him outside and he was crying and asking for forgiveness because he couldn’t help.”
Rosenfeld said he wanted to come to their aid.
“I wanted to leave the shelter and go there if not my wife,” Rosenfeld said. “She said to me, ‘With all due respect, I understand, it hurts. But if you do, they will live without an uncle, and he (Rosenfeld’s son) will live without a father.'”
Israeli military secret agents eventually rescued the babies.
“They were all wet from sweating and crying,” Rosenfeld said. “So then they changed the diapers. They took clothes from the neighbors because they didn’t know where the clothes were. So in the photo you can see the pink. We didn’t know where the pink came from.”
Rosenfeld took CBS News to meet twins Roi and Guy, whose parents are not yet buried.
The Rosenfelds always believed there would be twins in this generation.
“Because it skips a generation and comes from the mother,” Rosenfeld said. “And my grandfather had two sets of sisters, twins.”
Rosenfeld’s grandfather’s sisters all died in the Holocaust, he revealed, making these twins’ survival an even greater miracle.
Donations were received for the family, including strollers, car seats and toys. But most importantly, the twins are surrounded by a large and loving family.
“They are raised with a lot of love and a lot of stories about their parents,” Rosenfeld said. “…I think the most important thing is to tell them that their parents were heroes.”
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the death toll in Israel from Friday’s Hamas attack rose to at least 1,300, with another 3,200 injured.
At least 1,900 people were killed and more than 7,600 injured in Israeli military counterattacks in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israel and Hamas at war
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