4-year-old Abigail Idan will be reunited with her brother - they are left orphaned after the massacre

Abigail Idan, who celebrated her 4th birthday in captivity under Hamas just two days ago, was released this evening (Sunday) as part of the third round of the hostage deal with the terrorist organization.

Abigail's parents, Roi and Smadar, were murdered in their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Abigail's older siblings, Michael and Amalya, hid in a closet for hours. When her father was killed, Abigail escaped to the nearby Brodutch family's home. She was abducted to Gaza along with the Brodutch family members, Hagar Brodutch (40) and her three children, Ofri (10), Yuval (8), and Uriah (4).

Abigail's picture became one of the symbols of the abductees in Gaza, reaching U.S. President Joe Biden, who exerted pressure on Qatar and Egypt to secure the release of the toddler who holds American citizenship. In a statement made after the release of the first captives last week, Biden said: "We look forward to more releases in the days ahead. Including American citizens – among them little Abigail."

Upon learning of her release, Abigail's grandfather Carmel Idan, said this evening: "We have joy mixed with sadness in our hearts: Our son and his wife were murdered, we chose life.” 

Zoli Moore, Abigail's uncle, took the orphaned nephews, Michael and Amalya, under his wing.

In an interview with KAN News, he spoke about the struggles of the children, who were forced to watch their parents' bodies for hours while hiding from the terrorists. "It's good that they're children, they don't have in their heads what we do," he said.

"We are doing our best to make them happy as much as possible, so they won't be occupied with what they went through. There are things that can't be beautified, so you communicate to them in their language. Fortunately, they are okay. Not 100% nor will it be 100%. We are dealing with it, and teams of psychologists are accompanying us.” 

Abigail's grandfather, Carmel Idan, said in an interview last week with Kan Reshet B: "I don't know how it will be when she comes back; she doesn't know she's an orphan. I'm afraid that when she is handed over to the soldiers, she will experience even more trauma."

The grandfather shared that the official notification of Abigail's kidnapping was delivered to the family nine days after the massacre in the Gaza envelope.