Time magazine has named Hostage, the gripping memoir by Israeli survivor Eli Sharabi, as one of the top 100 “must-read” books released in the past year. The book chronicles his harrowing 491-day captivity in Hamas tunnels beneath Gaza and the unimaginable loss he discovered upon returning home.
Sharabi, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, was abducted during the October 7, 2023 massacre. His wife, Lianne, and their daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were murdered while hiding in their safe room, a tragedy Sharabi only learned about after his rescue. His brother Yossi was also taken hostage and later died in captivity.
Time’s reviewer, Hamilton Cain, described the memoir as “a searing” and deeply personal account. “In his best-selling memoir, Eli Sharabi… depicts his captivity in searing detail, from the dawn raid in which he was separated from his wife and daughters to his excruciating ordeal in the tunnels beneath Gaza,” Cain wrote.
Cain continued, “He writes of befriending a few fellow hostages and devising a plan to survive on ‘a siniyah between us per meal: a tray with a little rice, meat, or ful beans… a pita and a half to scoop out of the tray.’”
The review observed that “when a negotiated deal led to his freedom, Sharabi emerged into a world forever shattered and learned that his family had been killed in the attack. In this first memoir of captivity in Gaza following October 7, Sharabi offers a raw, intimate perspective on one of the most divisive conflicts in modern history.”
Since its release, Hostage has gained international recognition, reaching the fourth spot on The New York Times bestseller list and even appearing on the cover of Time. It is the first firsthand account of captivity in Gaza to be published after the horrific October 7 events.
Sharabi recently sent an English copy of his book to President Donald Trump, including a deeply personal inscription: “Dear President Trump, Thank you for securing my release. I am forever and eternally grateful. Your actions have given me back my freedom, my life.”
{Matzav.com}
