‘Happy To Return To Wife, Daughters’: Freed Israeli Excited to Meet Family Unaware They’ve Been Killed- wna24

Gaza Strip: After spending 491 days in Hamas captivity, Eli Sharabi was finally released on Saturday morning, only to face an unimaginable heartbreak. Upon his return to Israel, he was unaware that his wife, Leanne, and daughters, Noya (16) and Yahel (13), had been killed in the October 7 Hamas attack in 2023. In a video, Sharabi expressed his joy, saying, “I am very happy today to return to my wife and daughters,” completely unaware of their tragic deaths at their home in Kibbutz Be’eri.

However, he was informed that his brother, Yossi Sharabi, had died in captivity, with his body still held in Gaza.

Sharabi was one of three hostages released by Hamas as part of the recent prisoner exchange, which saw Israel free 183 Palestinian prisoners under a ceasefire agreement brokered internationally.

The other two hostages, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy, were handed over to the Red Cross and reunited with their families in Israel.

Upon his release, Sharabi’s family in the UK expressed shock at his frail and gaunt appearance. His brother, Sharon, who had campaigned tirelessly for his freedom, told The Jerusalem Post, “Eli is the last remnant of the Sharabi family still living in Gaza captivity. We have lost four family members. Around the Shabbat table, five chairs are missing. Four of them will never be sat in again.”

Sharabi’s brother-in-law, Steve Brisley, also spoke of his distress upon seeing Eli’s condition, describing him as “gaunt” and saying, “It’s incredibly difficult to see him so thin, but what really struck me was the light that’s gone from his eyes.”

Meanwhile, in Ramallah and other parts of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian prisoners were welcomed home, with reports indicating that some required medical attention, though details were scarce.

This development comes after as part of the ceasefire deal initiated on January 19, a total of 21 hostages and 566 Palestinian prisoners have been freed. By the end of the first phase, expected to last three weeks, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners will be released.

The October 7 attack, a military protocol allowed the use of force to prevent hostages from being captured, even at the risk of their death. Since then, Israeli military operations in Gaza have claimed the lives of at least 47,000 Palestinians, with some estimates exceeding 200,000.