The harrowing memoir of Eli Sharabi, who endured 491 days in Hamas captivity, will be released in English on October 7 — the second anniversary of the terror group’s brutal 2023 attack on Israel.
“Hostage,” first published in Hebrew earlier this year, has become the fastest-selling book in Israeli history, offering a powerful firsthand account of Sharabi’s kidnapping from Kibbutz Be’eri and the discovery that his wife and children had been killed. He endured starvation, isolation, beatings and psychological abuse at the hands of his captors.
The Post can exclusively reveal the cover of the book, published by Harper Influence, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Until his release in February, Sharabi was fueled by the desire to be reunited with his British-born wife, Lianne, and daughters, Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13 — only to discover they had been killed by Hamas terrorists, and that his brother Yossi died in captivity.
“When I came back and hear that they were murdered five minutes after I was kidnapped, I can’t understand the situation and I demand answers,” he told N12 in June.
“I want to see them, I want to hug them, I want to draw strength from them, I want to show them that I’m okay, that I’m no longer a poster.”
Sharabi has said his time in Gaza was spent enduring Hamas’ cruelty while 164 feet underground, his body wrapped in “chains so tight, they ripped my skin,” alongside fellow hostages Alon Ohel and Or Levy.
He was emaciated and weighed a mere 97 pounds at the time of his release.
Speaking before the UN Security Council in New York in March, Sharabi told world leaders that Hamas has ransacked the aid meant for hostages and Gaza’s civilian population, enjoying the spoils while everyone around them suffers.
“Hamas eats like kings, while hostages starve,” said Sharabi, whose appearance shocked the world when he was released back in February.
Sharabi said Hamas would only give him “a piece of pita” bread to eat, along with “a sip of tea.”
As he endured brutal beatings and relentless mockery from the terrorists, Sharabi said his will was nearly broken when Hamas terrorists laughed just before his release as they broke the news that his brother, Yossi, had been killed in captivity.
“It was like they brought a massive hammer down on me,” Sharabi told the UN.
He was ultimately released as part of the first phase of a cease-fire deal that saw 29 other hostages and the bodies of eight Israelis returned to the country.
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“I wrote the book to reach people, to give back, to show that no matter how difficult it is, you can always choose, no matter what cards life deals you, it is in your hands, always, in every moment, the choice to die, and the choice to live,” he previously said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Harper Influencer publisher and SVP Lisa Sharkey said the picture on the front cover of the English version “reveals the eyes of a man who has seen the darkest depths of hell, but refuses to give up.
“They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This photo of Eli Sharabi, moments before his release, looking frail, gaunt, starved, and deeply afraid, this picture shows the 491 days of heartbreak he spent in captivity, after being kidnapped by the Hamas terrorists who murdered his family on October 7,” she said.
