Eli Sharabi: Released After 491 Days — His Wife and Daughters Were Killed on October 7
Eli Sharabi, an Israeli entrepreneur, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023, while his wife Lianne and daughters Noiya and Yahel were murdered in the same attack. Released February 8, 2025, after 491 days in Hamas captivity, he gave detailed testimony about the conditions — starvation, shackling, psychological abuse — and about learning, only after his release, that his family was gone.
Eli Sharabi was 51 years old when he was abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023. His wife Lianne (48), daughter Noiya (16), and daughter Yahel (13) were murdered in the attack. He was brought into Gaza alone, not knowing for months whether any of his family had survived.
Conditions in Captivity
Sharabi described his 491 days of captivity in interviews, his book Hostage, and a March 20, 2025 address to the UN Security Council:
- He was held in multiple locations — tunnels, civilian homes, and other structures — and moved repeatedly.
- He was held in tunnels alongside other hostages for much of his captivity (including Alon Ohel, Or Levy and, at times, Hersh Goldberg-Polin), with little information about the outside world or the fate of his family.
- Food was severely rationed; he lost substantial weight and emerged visibly emaciated when released.
- His captors used psychological tactics: they told him conflicting stories about whether ceasefire negotiations were progressing.
- He was allowed no communication with his family or with Israel.
Learning of His Family's Deaths
Sharabi did not learn of his wife's and daughters' deaths until after his release, at the Re'im reception point. During captivity he had hoped to be reunited with them; during the Hamas release ceremony he was told only that his brother Yossi had died (background).
He was released on February 8, 2025, as part of the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement. His brother Yossi Sharabi had also been a hostage; Yossi was killed in captivity.
Testimony at the UN
Eli Sharabi addressed the United Nations Security Council after his release. His appearance — visibly thin, physically marked by his captivity — and his account of the conditions and of losing his family were widely covered. He described Hamas as a terrorist organization and recounted starvation, shackling and abuse in the tunnels.
