Eli Sharabi — who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and spent 16 months as a hostage before his release last year — spoke to an overflow audience Wednesday night, at the Westport Library. He is on a US speaking tour.
Former CNN journalist and Westport resident Alisyn Camerota moderated the event. “06880” correspondent Robin Moyer Chung reports:
After being greeted with a standing ovation, Sharabi began his harrowing story of survival.
A CFO of a private equity firm, Eli lived in a kibbutz 3 miles from the Gaza border with his wife Lianne, and daughters Noiya and Yahel. Life was peaceful, living among Palestinians who worked in the kibbutz.
Eli Sharabi, with Alisyn Camerota. (Photo/KT Kaminski)
But on October 7, Hamas stormed into his home. They kidnapped Sharabi, and forced him into an underground tunnel for 491 days.
He and his fellow captors were starved, shackled together, physically and psychologically tortured, and in constant, excruciating pain.
He said of his “living” quarters, “There’s no running water, no toothpaste, no toilet paper. The toilet backs up onto the floor. The stench is unimaginable. Worms infiltrate your living quarters. The relentless hunger starts changing everyone’s personality. The filth starts affecting everyone’s health. Hostages start getting sick. It’s hard to imagine a worse hell.”
Eli Sharab — before and after his capture.
Sharabi described his guards too. They cried into their pillows at night, and had panic attacks. Two of them once excitedly told him “about this wonderful movie that they just saw, called ‘Titanic.’”
His audience realized: His guards were human. They watched movies, missed their families and were overwhelmed by the stress of their jobs.
Still, they felt entitled to beat and starve other humans in horrific, unconscionable ways.
On February 8, 2025 — the day he was released — Sharabi asked to see his wife and daughter.
Instead, a social worker from the Israel Defense Forces said that just his mother and sister were waiting for him in Reimkamp. Without her telling him, he knew his wife and daughter had not survived.
But Sharabi is adamant about making his life larger than his experience. “My memories will be alongside of my life, not part of my life,” he said. “I’ll make them proud of me.”
His hope and determination to stay alive for his family saved his life, and perhaps the lives of others around him.
Today, Sharabi travels the world. He talks about his experiences, and helps people understand the terror of being a hostage of Hamas.
Audience members were emotional, as they offered another standing ovation at the end of the evening.
A portion of last night’s Westport Library audience. (Photo/KT Kaminski)