After 491 days in Hamas captivity, Eli Sharabi was freed, solely to be taught that his wife, daughters, and brother had died.
Israeli hostage left shocked after his wife and daughters had been…
After being held captive by Hamas for 491 days, Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi was lastly freed on Saturday morning. However, his return to Israel was marked by unimaginable heartbreak—he was unaware that his wife and two daughters had been killed within the October 7 Hamas assault in 2023.
In a heartbreaking second, Mr. Sharabi was filmed saying, “I am very happy today to return to my wife and daughters,” as reported by the BBC. He had no concept that his wife, Leanne, and daughters, Noya (16) and Yahel (13), had been murdered of their house in Kibbutz Be’eri. His grief deepened additional when he discovered that his brother, Yossi Sharabi, had died in captivity. His physique remains to be being held in Gaza.
Mr. Sharabi was amongst three hostages released as a part of the most recent prisoner alternate deal between Israel and Hamas. The settlement, which was brokered beneath an internationally mediated ceasefire, noticed Israel launch 183 Palestinian prisoners in alternate. The different two Israeli hostages, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy, had been additionally handed over to the Red Cross earlier than reuniting with their households.
His household, who dwell within the UK, had been shocked by his frail situation upon his launch. His brother, Sharon Sharabi, who had been campaigning for his freedom, described their devastating loss. “Eli is the last remnant of the Sharabi family still living in Gaza captivity. We have lost four family members. Around the Shabbat table, five chairs are missing. Four of them will never be sat in again,” he advised The Jerusalem Post.
Mr. Sharabi’s brother-in-law, Steve Brisley, advised the BBC that his skinny and weak look was deeply upsetting. “It’s incredibly difficult to see him so thin and gaunt. But what really struck home for me was the light that’s gone from his eyes.”
Meanwhile, within the occupied West Bank, Palestinian prisoners who had been released beneath the identical deal had been welcomed by their households in Ramallah and different areas. Some representatives claimed that the freed prisoners wanted medical remedy, however particular particulars weren’t offered.
In a separate improvement, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed on Saturday that he had accredited the controversial Hannibal Directive through the October 7 assault. This navy protocol permits Israeli forces to make use of excessive measures—even on the threat of harming hostages—to stop them from being captured by enemy forces.
Since Israel launched its navy operations in Gaza, at the very least 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, with some estimates exceeding 200,000.
The ongoing ceasefire deal, which began on January 19, has up to now resulted within the launch of 21 Israeli hostages and 566 Palestinian prisoners. By the top of the primary part of the settlement, which is predicted to final three weeks, a complete of 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners can have been freed.
