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This story first appeared as today’s Israel briefing newsletter. You can sign up to receive it daily here.
Israeli TV has run the first interview with the hostage who was freed earlier this month, only to discover they had been murdered. Eli Sharabi believed that his wife – British-Israelis Lianne – and teen daughters Yahel, and Noiya would be greeting him upon his return from Gaza. He said so at Hamas’ handover ceremony, only to be informed hours later that wife Lianne and the girls had been killed on October 7, 2023.
“I thought I was returning to my family. I had no idea,” he told Channel 12, adding: The scene is simply horrific, a terrible fear that is unlike anything.
“Ten terrorists inside the house. Two of them grab me, grab the girls and stand with them in the kitchen. And all that time, Lianne tells them: ‘British passport.’ She thinks it will save them.”
Sharabi said he knew immediately that he would be taken to Gaza: “I shouted to my daughters, ‘I will come back.’”
He also revealed that he was held underground for more than a year. “I was chained by the legs from the day I was taken until the last moment,” he said. “Some were chained for part of the time. I was chained for 16 months. Heavy locks tore into my flesh.”
The hunger was unbearable, recalled: “You dream about food every single day. Not the beatings, not the pain—just food. You dream of picking up an apple or drinking water. At the worst points, eating once a day, a bowl of pasta—300, 250 calories. You already see your stomach disappearing, see yourself shrinking.”
On the day he was released, the separation from fellow hostage Alon Ohel was awful, he went on. “The day I left, they tore me from him. He refused to let go. He said he was happy for me. I promised him I wouldn’t leave him there, that I would fight for him.”
Yet, despite all his suffering, Sharabi described himself as “lucky.” He said: “I am lucky. Lucky to have had Lianne for 30 years, lucky to have had my daughters. Lucky they didn’t kill me.”
In related news, a former hostage who was recently freed from Hamas captivity has revealed details of the conditions endured by Elkana Buhbut, a hostage who is still in Gaza. Buhbut suffers from severe asthma and skin conditions due to prolonged confinement in a narrow tunnel, according to the testimony. The tunnel is said to be 30 metres underground, and Buhbut sleeps on the floor with sheets full of mould and damp foam.
Elsewhere, a Palestinian man rammed his car into pedestrians in northern Israel yesterday, leaving a 17-year-old girl in critical condition and one other victim in serious condition, with 10 others injured. The attack took place at Karkur Junction near the quiet town of Pardes Hanna. Police fatally shot the perpetrator of the suspected terror attack – a 53-year-old Palestinian from Jenin in the West Bank, who had allegedly been living illegally in Israel for years, married to an Israeli-Arab woman.
He attacked his first victims near a bus stop. Then, he continued towards a police checkpoint, which is where he was shot as officers opened fire. Authorities are investigating how he obtained the vehicle used in the attack and why there were no reports that he was a terror risk. There are also questions about how he remained in Israel for years.
Meanwhile, Israeli negotiators are in Cairo reportedly pushing to extend the current hostage deal and refusing Hamas’s demands for a full military withdrawal. The US is understood to be backing Israel’s position, increasing pressure on Hamas, while the terror group is claiming that this direction is a violation of the agreed roadmap for negotiations.
Hamas is using the ceasefire to regroup and plan assaults, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz claimed yesterday, warning that Israel "will not hesitate" to act if it feels Hamas has crossed lines. He also said that Hamas has no place in Gaza post-war.
Back in Israel, Tsachi Idan, whose remains were returned from Gaza yesterday, will be buried today. A private funeral will take place after a public procession, which will start at the ground of the football team he loved, Hapo'el Tel Aviv. Idan was one of four hostages whose bodies were released from Gaza in the latest exchange.
And Israeli strikes have killed one of Hezbollah’s most important arms buyers, the IDF announced this morning. The air force conducted an intelligence-based strike in Lebanon and killed Mohammed Mahdi Ali Shaheen, a Hezbollah terrorist who had been coordinating weapons purchases on the Syria-Lebanon border during the current ceasefire.
“Shaheen was a significant terrorist in Hezbollah’s Geographical Unit, which is responsible for the Beqaa area and has recently been involved in transporting weapons from Syria to Lebanon,” said the IDF statement.
As part of his role, Shaheen was responsible for making purchase deals for the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and mediating the arrival of the shipments and their distribution to the various Hezbollah units, in order to continue Hezbollah’s establishment and reinforcement.”
The military added: “Shaheen’s actions posed a threat to the State of Israel and constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Security forces also announced yesterday that an Israeli man has been indicted for allegedly providing intelligence to Iran. The Petach Tikva resident appeared in court yesterday on the charge of contacting a foreign agent. Daniel Kitov is alleged to have received $7,000 for the work, and his tasks are said to have included pro-Hamas vandalism. He was also allegedly asked to photograph military bases and the homes of officials but did not do so.
Finally, Israel’s Attorney General has ordered a criminal investigation into connections between officials in the Prime Minister’s office and Qatar.
Gali Baharav-Miara has initiated the probe after allegations surfaced that Netanyahu’s former spokesman, Eli Feldstein – who has already been charged in a separate investigation for leaking classified IDF documents – also provided services for Qatar through an international firm that promotes pro-Qatar narratives in Israeli media.
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