Agam Berger recalls Memorial Day in captivity: "We Lit a Candle in Gaza" 

On Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers, Agam Berger, one of the survivors of the October 7 attack and captivity in Gaza, published a moving personal post in memory of her friend Shirat Yam Amar, who fell at the Nahal Oz outpost.

Berger, who survived the horrors but was unable to say goodbye properly to the friendship she lost, wrote: "Last year we were sure that by Memorial Day we would be able to say goodbye properly. To see with our eyes, because until we see we will not believe. To hug the families, to go up to the grave, at least to light a candle. And it didn't happen."

She describes Memorial Day in Gaza as the day when the prisoners managed to light an improvised memorial candle, stand at the siren and cry together: "There isn't a day that you weren't in my head, you and all the girls. We wanted to pay tribute to you, we were able to hear the ceremony and stand the siren – and the tears kept falling."

Although Berger does not share the details of the stories in her possession, she writes that she initially chose to leave the details to Shirat Yam's family: "There are so many things to tell about you, but your family deserves to hear first."

Later in the post, she describes her friend in warm and touching words: "It doesn't take much to understand how pure you are, just from the look, from the smile. Berger also asked for forgiveness from her friend: "Sorry you didn't get to fulfill the dreams you talked about. Sorry we didn't protect you. Sorry Yam, I couldn't do anything to save you. That you saved others and threw grenades, and thanks to you we are here."

Berger concludes her remarks with a promise: "You are engraved in my heart for life, and I will do everything so that you and all the heroines who fell at the post that day will be remembered. I love you."