Hostage
By Eli Sharabi
October 7, 2023, was a fateful morning for Eli Sharabi and many others. It was the morning of the devastating attack on his kibbutz, Be’eri. That day, countless rockets were launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip, and thousands of terrorists crossed the border by air, land, and sea.
Eli woke to the relentless notifications on his phone: incoming missile alerts and reports of terrorist infiltration into Israel. He, his wife, and their two young daughters barricaded themselves in the safe room, but safe rooms are designed to protect against rockets, not armed terrorists. They hid there for hours as gunfire and explosions drew closer. When the terrorists began setting houses on fire to smoke people out, Eli and his family realized they had no choice. Rather than risk being burned alive, they decided to surrender, hoping for mercy.
From the moment of his abduction, Eli was separated from his wife and daughters. He was forced into Gaza, surrounded by armed terrorists. As soon as he crossed the border, a frenzied mob surrounded him—people tried to grab him from his captors, lynching him, hitting him in the stomach with elbows and fists, beating and abusing him in every way imaginable.
At first, Eli was held in the home of a relatively wealthy Palestinian family with clear connections to Hamas. Despite knowing they were terrorists who could kill him at any moment, he managed to stay on civil terms with them. During conversations, he learned that many Palestinians genuinely believed Israelis wanted to kill them just for the sake of killing. They didn’t understand that most Israelis simply wanted to live in peace, raise their families, and build a good life.
After some time, Eli was transferred to the tunnels—his greatest fear. The conditions underground were inhumane: cramped, airless, and dark. Food was scarce from the beginning and became almost nonexistent as the war dragged on. At first, the hostages received the same meager rations as their captors; later, they were given barely anything at all.
Despite everything, Eli remained remarkably strong. While many hostages broke down under the strain, it was Eli who kept them together—telling stories, lifting spirits, even giving the guards nicknames to make the horror slightly more bearable. Some of the older terrorists occasionally showed flashes of humanity; the younger ones were consistently cruel.
Unbeknownst to Eli during his captivity, his entire family—his wife and both daughters—had been murdered on October 7. The hope that they were still alive was what kept him going.
This is a true story of extraordinary courage in the face of relentless terror and unimaginable darkness. A must-read.
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