Returned 3-year-old twins were separated as hostages, family recounts

The family of Emma and Yuli Cunio, 3-year-old twins who were taken captive by Hamas, share the story of how the two girls were separated two days after they were abducted in Gaza.

 Twins Yuli Cunio, 3, and Emma Cunio, 3, who were taken hostage during the October 7 attack by Hamas, hold toy bears shortly after their arrival in Israel, at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel in Petah Tikva, Israel, November 27, 2023 (photo credit: SCHNEIDER CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS )
Twins Yuli Cunio, 3, and Emma Cunio, 3, who were taken hostage during the October 7 attack by Hamas, hold toy bears shortly after their arrival in Israel, at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel in Petah Tikva, Israel, November 27, 2023
(photo credit: SCHNEIDER CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS )

Emma and Yuli Cunio, 3-year-old twins, were separated in captivity in Gaza. Their mother recounted on Sunday: 'I recognized Yuli's crying.'

Until the collapse of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, 106 abductees who were in the captivity of Hamas, including 80 Israelis, were released. After their return, an entire country witnessed the horrors and the harsh conditions in which they were held by the terror organization in the Gaza Strip.

Entire families sat in captivity - fathers, mothers, children, grandfathers, and grandmothers.

In the aftermath of their return, Israel has been following their difficult testimonies.

The story of the 3-year-old twins in Gaza

One of the heart-wrenching stories is of the 3-year-old Cunio twins, who were kidnapped on the tragic Saturday of October 7, along with their 34-year-old mother, while their father David is still in Hamas captivity.

The grandfather of the twins, Ramos, spoke with Rafi Reshef on Channel 12 on Sunday and shared: "At one point, Yuli was taken to a separate location from the rest of the family. The twin girls were separated two days after they were abducted.

 An Israeli hostage and her daughter are seen hugging an IDF officer amid their release from Hamas captivity on November 24, 2023 (credit: VIA MAARIV ONLINE)
An Israeli hostage and her daughter are seen hugging an IDF officer amid their release from Hamas captivity on November 24, 2023 (credit: VIA MAARIV ONLINE)

After several days, they were moved to another location, without their father and husband.

"Suddenly Sharon, their mother, heard crying and she said: 'That's Yuli's cry!' And indeed it was Yuli, as they met her when they moved from one hiding place to another." According to their grandfather, 'They had to speak in absolute whispers, they were only allowed to sit or stand.'"

Sharon Cunio, aged 34, works as a personal advisor to the head of the Eshkol Regional Council, Gadi Yarkoni. David Cunio was abducted to Gaza along with his brother Ariel on the cursed Saturday from Kibbutz Nir Oz.