He Spent 491 Days as a Hamas Hostage. This Is How He Survived.

Key Takeaways

Eli Sharabi, a released Israeli hostage, survived 491 days in Hamas captivity, detailed in his memoir "Hostage."
Sharabi learned after his release that his wife, Lianne, and daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were murdered on October 7th.
Despite immense loss and torture, Sharabi committed to survival, driven by a promise to his family and a belief in choosing life.

On October 7th, 2023, sirens prompted Sharabi's family to a safe room on Kibbutz Be'eri, initially believing it was a typical rocket barrage.
Terrorists broke into his home four hours later, killing his dog and shooting inside the safe room.
Sharabi was dragged away, shouting a promise to return to his wife, Lianne, and daughters, Noiya and Yahel, who he later learned were murdered.

Eli Sharabi was initially captured by terrorists who protected him as a "valuable asset" against attacking civilians.
He spent 51 days of captivity in a Gaza family's home, chained, but communicated with the family and taught their son mathematics and economics.
After 51 days and 48 days into the war, he was moved from the house into Hamas tunnels during a ceasefire, a transition he described as a nightmare.

Sharabi was forced into a tunnel 50 meters deep during a 20-minute walk through Gaza streets, recalling a past kibbutz joke about terrorists emerging from tunnels.
Upon finding light in a brighter area, he met seven other hostages, including Hirsch Goldberg, from the Nova Festival, finding relief in speaking Hebrew after 52 days.
Hostages shared their stories and fears, with Hirsch Goldberg sharing the phrase "He who has a why can bear anyhow" as a survival concept.

As the oldest among four hostages in a tunnel, Sharabi acted as a paternal figure, maintaining sanity through prayer, focusing on family, and a belief in eventual release.
They endured severe starvation, subsisting on one and a half pieces of dry, moldy pita bread daily, sometimes consuming crumbs.
Sharabi implemented a daily ritual for survival: sharing three good things that happened, fostering positivity and resilience among the hostages despite initial disbelief.

Sharabi used Jewish rituals like Kiddush and Hamotzi during captivity, even without traditional elements, connecting him to his identity, family, and childhood.
He recognized parallels between their rituals and survival tactics used during the Holocaust, noting prayers provided strength beyond purely religious acts.
Hostages looked forward to Fridays to say prayers, reciting 'Eishes Chayil' for mothers, wives, and sisters, finding these rituals vital for well-being and linking them to family values.

Conditions in Hamas tunnels worsened over time, with Sharabi enduring periods of 40 days, then eight months, then another five months, in areas lacking running water, gas, or phone service.
Severe food deprivation reduced meals to one bowl of pasta or rice and bread per day, leading to a drastic physical decline and constant thoughts and dreams about food.
Sharabi resorted to a desperate act, cutting his eyebrow with a blade and feigning fainting from hunger, which prompted captors to provide dates and increase rations to half a pita a day for one week.

Sharabi explains that relating to his captors was a calculated survival strategy, not Stockholm Syndrome, despite instances like a captor washing his shirt.
Captors expressed ideological mantras including Islam as the only true path, territorial claims, and the belief that Jews should return to their origin countries.
He observed that while some captors had families and desired to live, their violent actions on October 7th demonstrated a radical worldview and rage that made them dangerous.

Upon his release, Eli Sharabi learned of his wife and daughters' deaths when an IDF officer's silence confirmed his fears, having considered this possibility daily for 491 days.
He learned Hamas had ordered the killing of everyone except men under 40, and that his wife, Lianne, and daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were murdered 30 minutes before terrorists reached his house.
Sharabi visited their graves, seeking closure and fulfilling his shouted promise to return, choosing to live and advocate, driven by a love for life and obligation to those who fought for his release.