This story is about Eli and Yossi Sharabi, two brothers from Yemeni descent. They are the eldest and middle of three brothers who were born and grew up in kibbutz Be’eri. Eli, the eldest, married a British woman from Bristol called Lianne. Just like Thomas Hand, Lianne came to Israel as a kibbutz volunteer at age 19. That is when she met Eli Sharabi and decided to stay. They got married, had two lovely daughters and built a happy life together in kibbutz Be’eri.

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This is Eli with Lianne, Noya (16) and Yahel (13).

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And this is Yossi’s family. He married Nira Herman, a nurse. They had three beautiful daughters: Yuval (17), Ofir (14) and Oren (13). They lived their lives, went to work and to school, saw family and friends. Like all people everywhere.

Until October 7, 2023. Black shabbath, the destruction of kibbutz Be’eri at the hands of Hamas. Terrorists broke through the Gaza border, gunning down everyone they saw, and invaded the kibbutz. Heavily armed men went from house to house, hunting down Israelis, leaving a trail of murder and destruction. Eli and Lianne’s home was on the list, too. When the intruders broke in, Mocca, the family dog, ran at them barking. Hiding in their safe room, the family heard the gunmen shoot their dog and then laugh. This mental picture is burned into my brain and makes my blood run cold.

In interviews, Nira later said that Lianne texted her, saying: “Nira, I can hear them. They are here at our house. They are shooting and shouting: “Die Israel”. Please call for help.”

Nira did call for help, but it would not come until hours later. It was too late for Lianne, Noya and Yahel. They were murdered in such a brutal way that it took weeks for their remains to be definitively identified. I don’t know the details of what was done to them, and I prefer not to know. But Noya and Yahel, young teenage girls, could only be identified through DNA testing.

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Eli Sharabi lost his entire family on that horrific morning. But we don’t know whether he realizes they are dead. He was abducted by Hamas and there has been no contact with him whatsoever. We don’t know if he is alive at all, or if he will ever come home. But even if he does, he has no home anymore, no house, no kibbutz, no family. His entire life has been destroyed by the Death Eaters. I cannot imagine anything worse. My heart bleeds for Eli Sharabi.

The following image is from Lianne, Yahel and Noya’s funeral (in the Daily Mail).

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Yossi, Nira and their children were also hiding in their safe room. They could hear the terrorists outside, shouting and shooting. People started calling Nira, who is a nurse, with panicked requests for help, what to do for family members who had been shot. Nira tried to instruct them as well as she could without being able to leave her house and see the wounded people for herself. Lianne texted her, begging her to call for help. Ten minutes later, she lost contact with Lianne. Nira’s nephew called from the Supernova music festival, telling her they were under attack and he was coming to their kibbutz. Nira had to tell him not to come, that the terrorists were in Be’eri, too. Later, she heard that her nephew was killed at the site of Supernova.

To these people, it must have felt like the world was ending. The terror and despair they must have felt is unimaginable.

At 12:30, the Death Eaters reached Nira and Yossi’s house. They did the same thing as in Eli and Lianne’s home: they shot and killed their dog, Shoko, and laughed. Yossi then got up, walked out of the safe room and told the terrorists to take him and leave his family. In the documentary Burning in the hearts of Be’eri, Nira later described the following scene:

“They took us from the house, and they brought us downstairs to the garden. They took our phones with their weapons [aimed at us]. All three terrorists. They were dressed in black with the whole package and everything. (…) And they took pictures, a selfie, you know, to spread it all around. And they just took the flag. We had a flag of Israel down in the house, and they just ripped it and they started to smash it. And they start to yell in Arabic, “Down with Israel! This is Palestine! This is not Israel! Israel does not exist! Kill all the Jews!” “

The terrorists then told them to give them their car keys. They made Yossi Sharabi, Ofir Engel (Yuval’s boyfriend) and Amit Shani, their neighbour’s son, get into the car. Then, they drove away with the three Israelis as hostages. Nira and her daughters and their neighbour, Amit’s mother, stood there and cried, looking after the car that took their loved ones away.

Seven weeks later, in the ceasefire, minors Ofir and Amit were released. The video footage of the reunion of Ofir and his girlfriend, Yuval Sharabi, is so very touching. Amit’s grandmother, Simcha Shani, was shot in the stomach but survived the ordeal. The entire family is extremely lucky to all be alive and together.

Unlike the Sharabi family. Not only were Lianne, Noya and Yahel murdered, but both Eli and Yossi are still hostages. Nira and her daughters cannot return to Be’eri, their house has been burned to the ground. They stay in a hotel in Eilat, and try to survive the hours, days, weeks and months that they are apart from their husband and father. Nira says she has no idea why the terrorists didn’t simply shoot them all. They had no problems shooting other women and children.

Yossi and Eli’s younger brother, Sharon, supports them the best he can and campaigns for the release of his brothers. He keeps Shabbath and so he did not get any of the messages that his family sent him that day, until the evening, when he switched on his phone and saw what had happened to them. He says: “My job is to bring my brothers home.”

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I don’t know if Eli and Yossi Sharabi are alive or if they will ever come home. I hope and pray they are and they will. But what they will find if they do, will be incredibly hard for them.

#bringthemhome

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Update 17/1/24

With a heavy heart, I have to add here that Yossi Sharabi was murdered in Hamas captivity. This has been made public yesterday.

Hamas released a video on January 14, 2024, showing three hostages: Noa Argamani, Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky. They were forced to say that if Israel didn’t stop the war, they would die. Hamas ended the video with a nice little game: we got to guess who was going to be murdered that night.

Sadly, Noa was the only one who survived this demonic game.

I am heartbroken for Nira and her daughters. This family had to go through way too much.

Rest in peace, Yossi Sharabi.