President Biden commented on Beinin’s release, writing: “Jill and I are deeply gratified that she will soon be reunited with her three children and her father, who have been wracked with worry for her safety.”
Beinin is a high school history and civics teacher and the mother of three children. Once a week, she gives tours at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial. Beinin was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7 attack. Her husband, Aviv Atzili, oversaw the heavy agricultural machinery used to cultivate the kibbutz’s thousands of acres of peanuts, carrots and potatoes.
At the time of Beinin’s release on Wednesday, Atzili, 49, was believed to be in Gaza as a hostage of Hamas, according to the White House. “We remain determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel on October 7, including Liat’s husband Aviv,” Biden said in a statement.
The day after Beinin’s safe return the family received the news they had long dreaded. Her father Yehuda Beinin said he was told Thursday by Israeli authorities that Atzili was killed on Oct. 7 based on a forensic DNA analysis of remains.
The couple’s oldest child, 22, was at a friend’s house the day of the attack and managed to remain hidden. Their middle child, 20, survived by holding the door of a safe room closed, preventing the attackers from entering. Their youngest child, 18, was not on the kibbutz during the attack. The kibbutz is about 1½ miles from the Gaza Strip.
Beinin’s American-born parents migrated to Israel about 50 years ago. Her father said the U.S. government “has been very helpful from the very first day.” Yehuda has traveled to Washington repeatedly and has met with Vice President Harris, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, Roger Carstens.
Recent days were agonizing. The family has waited by the phone for news, hoping to hear that Beinin would be among the women and children on the list of those scheduled for release, only to be disappointed.
On Tuesday night, they received the news they had sought. And by late Wednesday in Israel, Beinin’s parents and sister Tal Beinin — who lives in Portland, Ore. — were at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, anxiously awaiting her arrival.
Her family was overjoyed at her release, but Yehuda Beinin said his happiness was tempered by the knowledge that Atzili remained a captive. He pledged to keep working for Atzili’s release.
The following day they learned that Atzili — both a mechanic and an artist — had been killed. The family is planning a concert in his memory.
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