'I will never forget the look of terror in my family's eyes'

Hostage Eli Sharabi relives nightmare of October 7

- By Karen Rockett

THE traumatic events of October 7, 2023 are forever imprinted on Eli Sharabi’s mind. “I will never forget the look of terror in their eyes,” he says about his British wife, Lianne, and their daughters, Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, after armed Hamas terrorists stormed their kibbutz near Israel’s southern border.

Eli was speaking exclusively to the Daily Express on the second anniversary of the attacks as he publishes the English language version of his book, Hostage, which details his subsequent kidnap and 491 days in captivity.

The 53-year-old never saw his wife and daughters alive again. All three were slaughtered in their home in Kibbutz Be’eri shortly after Eli was taken — their British passports not saving them as he had hoped.

Thinking back to the moment of pandemonium when terrorists bundled him into a stolen car, he recalls the prayer that ran through his head. “Just not a tunnel, please, God, not a tunnel,” he repeats back today over Zoom.

“Not the nightmare of being buried underground, a bottomless underworld with no light, no air and no return.”

Eli was one of the 250 Israelis forced into Gaza. At least another 1,195 were murdered. His older brother Yossi was also kidnapped but killed after 100 days in captivity. Eli only learnt of their murders after being reunited with his brother Sharon, mother Hannah and sister, Osnat Matalon, following his release on February 8 as part of the Hamas-Israel agreement.