Freed hostage Eli Sharabi shared harrowing details of his 491-day captivity, the loss of his family, and the struggle to survive, in an interview with Channel 12’s ‘Uvda’.
Sharabi shared that the other three were taken away, and he assumed that they were being released. He did not learn that they had been murdered at the end of August until he was released from captivity.
Sharabi’s last moments with his family
Sharabi, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, recounted when he was separated from his wife Leanne and daughters Noya and Yahel.
“The scene was simply horrific, a fear unlike anything else. Ten terrorists in the house—two grab me, two grab the girls and stand with them in the kitchen. All the while, Leanne keeps telling them, ‘British passport,’ thinking it would protect them,” Sharabi recalled.
“I knew I was going to be taken. It was clear to me,” he revealed. “I yelled to my daughters, ‘I will come back!’ And from that moment, I went into survival mode. No matter what happens to me now, no matter what they do to me, I’m coming back. I will never forget the look in their eyes, how terrified they were. I just hope they didn’t suffer,” Sharabi added.
Learning of his brother’s murder
Sharabi also recounted how he found out his brother Yossi, who was also neighbor in Be’eri, had been kidnapped and killed.
“Two days before my release, the ‘event commander’—let’s call him—was proud to show me a picture of Yossi and tell me that the Air Force had killed him. I told him, ‘Okay,’ but I didn’t believe it.”
Another kibbutz neighbor, Ohad Ben Ami, who was held separately but reunited with Sharabi before their release, confirmed Yossi’s murder to him. “He pulled me aside and said, ‘Everything they told you is true.’ It felt like a five-kilogram hammer to the head,” Sharabi shared.
16 months shackled underground
Sharabi is able to vividly remember his first night in the tunnel, where he spent more than a year with Or Levy, Eliyah Cohen, and Alon Ahel.
“You’re 50 meters underground. The sanitary conditions are simply terrible. You shower once a month with a bottle of water, maybe half a bucket of cold water. The chains on my legs never left me from the day I arrived in Gaza until the last day. Some people were shackled only part of the time—I was chained for a year and four months, with thick, heavy locks that tore into my flesh,” he recounted
In addition to the violence and the sanitary conditions, Sharabi described the hunger that consumed him.
“The idea that a free person can just take fruit or drink water—that’s what you dream about every day. You don’t care about the beatings, even when they break your ribs. I didn’t care—just give me half a pita. You start to see your stomach sinking inward. At some point, you can’t believe what’s happening to your own body. During the worst periods, we ate once a day—a bowl of pasta, maybe 250-300 calories.”
How Israeli leadership’s words impacted the hostages
Sharabi also described how statements made by Israeli leaders affected the way Hamas treated the captives.
“You could tell what was happening in the news just by their behavior. That’s why responsibility lies with the leadership. Their public statements carry immense power. The terrorists listen to them all the time. They would come to us and say, ‘Your government isn’t feeding our prisoners, so you won’t eat either. They beat our prisoners, so we will beat you. They don’t let them shower, so you won’t get a shower.’”
Despite everything, Sharabi feels lucky
Despite the trauma, loss, and endless months in captivity, Sharabi considers himself fortunate.
“Contrary to what people might think, I’m not angry. I’m lucky. Lucky that I had Leanne for 30 years. Lucky that I had those amazing daughters for so many years. Lucky that they didn’t kill me. Lucky that after 16 months, I was able to come back to my family. I’m lucky.” Sharabi concluded.
Eli Sharabi’s background
Eli arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri from abroad at 14 years old, grew up and was educated there, and worked in a printing house in marketing positions. He served as the kibbutz treasurer and was also a member of the economic committee.
At age 28, he married Leanne, a volunteer from England. Leanne, a colorful character who constantly played music and sang, had become an Israeli in every sense of the word. Their daughters, Noya and Yahel, are seen in photos and videos laughing, happy, and surrounded by love.
He was released from captivity in Gaza on February 8 as part of phase one of the hostage exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas.
After his release on February 8, there was heavy concern over the amount of weight that Sharabi lost, leading to comparisons with images of Holocaust survivors.
Maya Cohen contributed to this report
