Eli Sharabi, 52, was released from Hamas captivity on Shabbos, alongside Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy. He was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas-led massacre.
But his story is not just one of abduction, it is a family tragedy. His wife, Lianne, and their two daughters, 13-year-old Yahel and 16-year-old Noya, were murdered. He how has to face the harrowing reality that his immediate family has been wiped out.
“We are overwhelmed and so happy to hear Eli’s name on the list of those returning tomorrow. I want to thank everyone and all of Israel for standing with us. Now, please let us support Eli and protect his privacy,” said the wife of Yossi Sharabi, Eli’s sister-in-law, whose husband was murdered in captivity and whose body remains in Gaza, said on Friday.

At the same time that Eli was taken, his brother Yossi, 51, who also lived in Be’eri, was kidnapped. Hamas later released a video of him in captivity, but in June, the IDF informed the family that he had been murdered and that his body was being held in Gaza.

A brother fighting for his life
The Sharabi family consists of five siblings, two of whom were taken hostage. Stepping into the role of a determined advocate, 48-year-old Sharon Sharabi has become the face of the fight for their return, battling for the release of his brother Eli, who was considered alive in captivity, and for Yossi’s body to be brought home for burial.
“Beyond being brothers, we are also best friends,” Sharon shared. “We don’t even have time to grieve because we are fighting for Eli’s life.”
Rotem, Sharon’s daughter and Eli’s niece, also spoken out about the toll on the family. “What we’ve been going through since then is unbearable. We are not the same family we used to be, something in our bond has been fractured, and it will never be the same again.”
Eli is described as a sharp-minded man, a natural leader who always takes command. But in captivity, he was utterly powerless.
The hope for a mother’s embrace
The Sharabi family originally lived in Tel Aviv. As a teenager, Eli moved to Be’eri and fell in love with life on the kibbutz. His younger brother Yossi followed him, and together they built their lives there. Their 75-year-old mother was initially shielded from the news of their abduction to spare her the pain. Eventually, the family had no choice but to tell her the truth.
Sharon pictured the emotional moment of reunion. “I can see the moment my mother hugs Eli, after we’ve lost four family members, Lianne, his wife, and their two daughters, Noya and Yahel. I will let my sisters have their moment first, and then I will say the Shehecheyanu blessing for having reached this time. And then, I will give him the biggest hug I know how to give, with the entire nation behind us.”
‘They are with us. I hear gunshots’: Ohad Ben Ami’s message before captivity
The story of Ohad Ben Ami’s captivity crystallizes the ongoing hostage crisis through intimate family details: a daughter discovering her father’s capture through social media; a wife returning home alone from Hamas captivity; and a warm home in Kibbutz Be’eri that stands empty, waiting for his return.
This 56-year-old resident, taken from his home in sleepwear alongside his wife, Raz, during the Oct. 7 attack, represents one of the many personal tragedies still unfolding in the wake of Hamas’s assault on Israel’s Gaza border communities.
Ohad and Raz’s ordeal began during the Oct. 7 attack on Be’eri, after an extended period hiding in their safe room. The terrorists, who initially passed by their seemingly empty house, later returned. Ohad’s last message to his daughter was chilling: “They are with us. I hear gunshots.”
The enduring image of his capture shows him being led away by terrorists, dressed only in a short-sleeved shirt and underwear, while his Raz, 57, was similarly taken in her sleepwear.
Soon after being freed from Hamas captivity in November 2023 as part of the first ceasefire deal, Raz shared her anguish: “My husband, Ohad, the love of my life and father of my children, remains in captivity. On October 7, the terrorists shattered our paradise and dragged us in our pajamas into hell. The world must not maintain its silence. Each day he spends there endangers his life. Bring him home now.”
Or Levy. 
The murdered wife, the young son waiting to see him: The story of Or Levy
The couple arrived at the Supernova music festival nine minutes before hell broke loose. As the Gazan rockets rained down, they ran for shelter. Or called his mother, Geula, and told her, “Mom, you don’t want to know what’s happening here.” That was the last time his family heard his voice over the phone.
Ten minutes later, Hamas terrorists threw grenades and opened fire in all directions. Einav was murdered, and Or was abducted into the tunnels of Gaza.
The boy who keeps asking about his parents
Or, a software developer by profession, is the father of Almog, who celebrated his third birthday without his parents. He has been raised by his grandparents, and as time passes, his memories of his mother and father are fading.
“Almog keeps asking about his mom and dad,” said his uncle, Michael, in a speech at the U.N. “Even when we try to explain, he doesn’t understand why he can’t see his father or what the words ‘Mom is never coming back’ mean. But this boy can still get his father back. Don’t let him become an orphan from his father too.”
The abduction footage
The Hamas terrorist organization has not released any documentation of Or Levy from captivity, nor has it been reported in the media who among the hostages has seen him or when. However, two videos shed light on what happened to him.
The first is footage from the bomb shelter that has since been dubbed the “death shelter,” capturing the moments of terror.
Michael, Or’s brother, described the harrowing video: “The last image we have of him is heartbreaking—covered in his wife’s blood, dazed and terrified. It’s an extremely difficult video to watch. Or is seen surrounded by bodies, one of them Einav’s. The terrorists can be heard speaking Arabic to one another, saying that someone is still alive. They ask Or if he is a soldier. You can hear him begging them not to take him, not to shoot him. That video was the first time I saw what had happened to Or.”
Michael added, “He’s my younger brother. All these years, I was the one protecting him. It was unbearable to see the horror on his face in the most terrible moments of his life, knowing that there was nothing I could do to help him.”
Additionally, in June 2024, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a video showing the terrorists driving toward Gaza in a pickup truck on Oct. 7. Inside the vehicle were four hostages, including the late Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eliya Cohen and Or. JNS
{Matzav.com}