Hollow-eyed and emaciated after nearly 500 days in captivity in Gaza, Eli Sharabi stood on a podium flanked by masked Hamas gunmen, unaware of what most Israelis already knew.
During the Hamas-led assault on Oct. 7, 2023, a dozen gunmen had burst into Mr. Sharabi’s house in the border community of Kibbutz Be’eri, where he had been hiding in a safe room with his wife and two teenage daughters. Hoping to save them, he said he gave himself up without a fight and was taken to Gaza.
After emerging from Hamas’s tunnels last month, he would soon learn that his wife, Lianne, 48, and his daughters — Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13 — had been shot and killed in the family home that day, along with the family’s dog, Mocha.
One of his brothers, Yossi, who was also kidnapped from Be’eri, died in Gaza after 100 days in captivity.
Mr. Sharabi and several other released hostages were flying to the United States on Monday to meet this week with administration officials, including a potential audience with President Trump.
Mr. Sharabi’s mother and three remaining siblings rejoiced over his return on Feb. 8, part of a cease-fire involving exchanges of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. But they said they had agonized beforehand, not knowing whether he was aware of the fate of his family or how they might break the news to him.
Forced by his captors to speak during the live broadcast at his handover ceremony, Mr. Sharabi said he was happy to be returning to his wife and daughters. His surviving brother, Sharon Sharabi, told The New York Times shortly after his release that his brother’s captors had told him his family was waiting.
