Kibbutz Be’eri says hostages Yossi Sharabi, Itay Svirsky killed; bodies held in Gaza
Declaration is first official public confirmation the two men died in Hamas captivity; IDF has rejected terror group’s claim they were killed in an Israeli bombing.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) Kibbutz Be’eri announced Tuesday to community members that hostages Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky were killed in Gaza and that their bodies are being held by the Hamas terror group.
The announcement represented the first official public notification that the two men had died.
The kibbutz, from where Sharabi and Svirsky were abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, called for their bodies to be returned for burial and for the release of all other hostages still in captivity in Gaza.
“The loss and suffering of the families is enormous and unimaginable,” the kibbutz said. “We call on the war cabinet to do everything to return the members of the Sharabi family home as well as the other abductees.”
Eulogizing Sharabi, who was a resident, the kibbutz described him as “the most loving and devoted father and husband, a family man with a big heart. A man who loves people, was caring and known for his dedication to all those around him, and was always full of joie de vivre.”
It described him as a fan of soccer teams Maccabi Tel Aviv, Spanish club Real Madrid, and the UK’s Manchester United. In recent years, he also developed a passion for surfing.
Sharabi is survived by his wife and three daughters.
The hostages were taken during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, when thousands of terrorists burst across the border from the Gaza Strip by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing over 240 captives of all ages — mostly civilians — amid horrific acts of brutality.
Sharabi and Svirsky were featured in a pair of propaganda videos published earlier this week by Hamas. At the time, the Israel Defense Forces said that several days previously it had already notified their families of fears for their lives.
The two Hamas videos also showed hostage Noa Argamani. The second video, published Monday evening, raised particular concerns regarding Svirsky and Sharabi. Argamani is believed by the IDF to still be alive.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Monday evening that Hamas’s claim that the military targeted a building where the three hostages were being held, killing two of them, was a lie. However, he indicated that it was possible that the hostages were located close to a building that was targeted by the IDF and may have been endangered.
Sharabi, 53, was abducted along with his brother, Eli Sharabi.
Svirsky, 38, was abducted from his parents’ home in Be’eri, where he was visiting to celebrate the Simchat Torah holiday. Both his parents, Orit Svirsky and Rafi Svirsky, were murdered by Hamas terrorists. His 96-year-old grandmother Aviva Sela managed to survive the attack.
Last week, Svirsky’s sister Merav Svirsky told Channel 13 news of the “ongoing nightmare” of her brother’s captivity and that she was holding out hope that her brother would return alive.
Argamani, 26, was abducted from the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on the morning of October 7, and a video of her abduction was one of the first to be published online as Hamas terrorists massacred some 360 partygoers and abducted dozens more.
Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had asked Beijing to help free Argamani, whose mother Liora is Chinese. Suffering from a terminal illness, Liora Argamani has pleaded to be reunited with her daughter before she dies.
It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 27 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively, as well as the remains of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014.
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