Summary of Hostage Review [ Palestinian hostage]

The review covers the capture, captivity, and release of Eli Sharabi, one of the 251 people abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent publication of his memoir.

The Ordeal of Captivity

• Capture: Sharabi was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, and held for 491 days in Gaza, initially believing his wife, Lianne (a British passport holder), and two daughters were safe.
• Conditions: His captivity was mainly in a network of cramped, fetid tunnels beneath Gaza, where he saw daylight only three times.
• Treatment: Hostages were shackled, chained, humiliated, beaten (Sharabi’s ribs were broken), and suffered from severe malnutrition. They received minimal medical care and were denied contact with or news of the outside world or their families. The Red Cross never visited.
• Hamas Tactics: Captors taunted the hostages, telling them they were forgotten. Sharabi notes that the stage-managed hostage releases (where abductees were forced to recite scripts) concealed the true brutality of their treatment.

Personal Tragedy and Survival

• Devastating Loss: Sharabi’s survival mission (“surviving to return home”) was driven by the thought of his wife and daughters. He did not learn until he was on Israeli soil that Lianne, Noiya, and Yahel had been murdered in the Kibbutz Be’eri massacre. His brother, Yossi, also taken from the kibbutz, died in captivity.
• Mantra: He held onto the mantra: “He who has a why can bear any how.”
• Human Spirit: Amidst the horror, the hostages formed a family-like bond, sharing food, recounting their lives, praying, and marking Shabbat to maintain their humanity and hope.

The Book’s Reception and Message

• Publication: Sharabi’s Hostage was published in Israel less than four months after his release and was the fastest-selling book in Israeli history.
• English Edition: Mainstream UK publishers initially passed on the book. It was eventually published by independent Swift Press in October 2025.
• Sharabi’s Goal: He wanted the story to come out quickly “so that the world will understand what life is like inside captivity” and “won’t be able to remain indifferent,” a fear that seemed realized as global attention shifted away from the hostages to the war in Gaza.
• Activism: Since his release, Sharabi has become a relentless campaigner for the return of remaining hostages (including his fellow captive, Alon Ohel, who was released in October 2025) and the bodies of the deceased.

Do you have any questions about the book, or would you like to know more about Eli Sharabi’s post-release activism?