logo
‘Hostage,' Eli Sharabi's memoir about life in Hamas captivity, is coming to the US

‘Hostage,' Eli Sharabi's memoir about life in Hamas captivity, is coming to the US

Arab News2 days ago
NEW YORK: A memoir by an Israeli man held in captivity for more than a year by Hamas is coming out this fall in the US Eli Sharabi's 'Hostage,' written in Hebrew and already a bestseller in Israel, is the first published memoir by anyone kidnapped by Hamas during the deadly surprise attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Harper Influence, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Tuesday that the English-language edition of his book will come out this Oct. 7, the 2-year anniversary.
Sharabi, 53, was released in early February and has said that he had shrunk to under 100 pounds — less than the weight of his youngest daughter, who was killed along with his wife and older daughter. More than 1,000 were killed in the attack and more than 200 taken hostage.
'It was important to me that the story come out as quickly as possible, so that the world will understand what life is like inside captivity,' Sharabi said in a statement. 'Once they do, they will not be able to remain indifferent. But I also want readers to know that even in the darkest of times, you can always seek out the light and choose humanity.'
According to Harper Influence, Sharabi writes about his experience with his captors in 'stark, unflinching prose, detailing the relationships the hostages formed with one another, including Alon Ohel, still a hostage in Gaza, with whom Sharabi formed an unbreakable father-son bond.'
'Along the way, Sharabi reveals how his faith gave him the resilience to endure the horrific conditions and overcome mental anguish,' the announcement reads in part.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Remembering the 7/7 attacks and the backlash that followed
Remembering the 7/7 attacks and the backlash that followed

Arab News

time43 minutes ago

  • Arab News

Remembering the 7/7 attacks and the backlash that followed

The UK on Monday marked the 20th anniversary of the July 7, 2005, attacks that left 52 people dead (56 including the attackers) and 784 injured. They were the victims of an attack planned by a group of four young British men who traveled into Central London carrying large backpacks containing homemade bombs. Three of them boarded trains on the London Underground network and detonated their devices, killing and maiming dozens. As the authorities were still trying to establish what had happened, another device was detonated on a bus. The carnage created by these devastating explosions was horrific. It is right that people remember those killed and injured in these tragic events — they were innocent bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But on the day this article was written, nearly 100 people were killed in Gaza. They had nowhere to escape, with their homes mostly razed to the ground over the past two years. Tens of thousands have died since the war started, but it is unlikely their names will be remembered as well as those killed in London that fateful morning as millions traveled to work. Tens of thousands have died in the Gaza war, but it is unlikely their names will be remembered as well as those killed in London Peter Harrison London is a multicultural city filled with people of every nationality, ethnicity, culture and religion. If the 7/7 attacks were aimed at hurting Britain, they were misguided. If the killers, who claimed they were Muslims, were doing it in the name of their religion, then what about the Muslims they killed? If it were out of hatred of the British, then what about the people who were born in other parts of the world who were there or who lost loved ones? And if it were an attack on British society, what about those people impacted who opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or stood firmly opposed to the politics that governed the country, but did so peacefully? The attackers did claim to be Muslims, but they certainly did not carry out an act of love or peace — the two driving factors of the faith that the vast majority of Muslims follow and practice. Over the last three decades, the world has been impacted by many acts of violence largely claimed to be in the name of religion, although there have been fewer than many people seem to think. We live in an era of uncertainty and increased fear of perceived threats. A YouGov poll published ahead of the 7/7 anniversary found that the level of concern about the threat of terrorism in the UK has been growing. 'Where in mid-2023 only 14 percent of Britons felt the threat had increased 'a lot' over the preceding five years, that figure has steadily increased … and has now doubled to 29 percent as of June,' the report explained. Again, if the 7/7 attackers believed they were killing in the name of their claimed faith, then spare a thought for the Muslims left behind, many of whom have at some point been pressured to denounce every attack or be accused of supporting the killers. The truth is that all the 7/7 attackers and the few others like them have achieved is a marked increase in Islamophobia. All that the 7/7 attackers and the few others like them have achieved is a marked increase in Islamophobia Peter Harrison So, not only do Muslims in the UK have anxieties related to the fear of future terror attacks, but they also have daily concerns about attacks against them because of their faith. Far more people suffer from that than have been attacked by extremists. The YouGov poll found that 47 percent of Britons consider Islamist extremists to be a 'big threat.' But while the police and intelligence services in the UK now see right-wing extremists as being on a par, only 25 percent of those polled share that view. Ironically, active threats from Islamist extremists in the UK may be 'high, but stable,' but those from right-wing extremists are 'rapidly increasing.' Islamophobia is a real problem. In October 2024, the monitoring group Tell Mama reported a spike in anti-Muslim abuse to 4,971 incidents in the year following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks — the highest total in 14 years. It is also well documented that, in the days that followed 7/7, there was a notable increase in Islamophobia in the UK. There is a growing trend in British politics, like much of the West, to move further to the right. Political parties of all persuasions have joined in the blame culture, pointing the finger at a supposed influx of migrants. The truth is that, following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, there was an inevitable increase in the number of migrants arriving in Britain legally or otherwise, but that is expected to fall away in the coming years. Hatred seems to have become the tool of choice when discussing politics. But surely the best way to beat attacks such as those commemorated this week is to show how united our communities are. It is right we remember those impacted by attacks such as 7/7 and it is right to be shocked, but it is also important to remember that this does not happen often and, as such, we remember the names of those killed 20 years ago on Monday. There are thousands of people killed elsewhere whose names we will never know.

Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank
Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

Asharq Al-Awsat

timean hour ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

Palestinian authorities said Israeli troops killed a 55-year-old man in the north of the occupied West Bank on Thursday -- an incident the Israeli army said involved a stabbing attack. The Ramallah-based health ministry said the body in charge of coordination with Israel informed it that soldiers "shot and killed" the man in Rummanah, near Jenin, in the morning. The Israeli military said separately that troops deployed in the village "neutralised" a man after he stabbed and "moderately injured" a soldier, AFP reported. The army generally uses the term "neutralised" after killing someone. Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 2023. A 12-year-old Palestinian boy died Thursday of wounds suffered during an army raid near the West Bank town of Nablus last week, the health ministry said. Since October 7, 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 951 Palestinians, including many militants, the ministry said. Advertisement - Scroll to Continue Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.

Israeli drone kills one in south Lebanon, tensions rise between UNIFIL, residents
Israeli drone kills one in south Lebanon, tensions rise between UNIFIL, residents

Al Arabiya

timean hour ago

  • Al Arabiya

Israeli drone kills one in south Lebanon, tensions rise between UNIFIL, residents

A man was killed Thursday in an Israeli drone strike on southern Lebanon, the health ministry said, after Israel announced it was carrying out 'special, targeted operations' against Hezbollah. Separately, tension was reported on Thursday between residents and the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. Despite a November truce that ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon, targeting the group's sites and operatives but also occasionally members of their Palestinian ally Hamas. 'One man was killed and two others wounded in an Israeli enemy drone strike that targeted a motorcycle in the village of Mansouri' near the coastal city of Tyre, the ministry said. On Tuesday, a drone strike hit a car in a nearby village, killing one person. Israel's military said it had 'eliminated' a Hezbollah member involved in developing the Iran-backed group's artillery capabilities in the south. Three others, including a Palestinian Hamas member allied with Hezbollah, were killed in a separate strike on northern Lebanon that same day. On Wednesday, the Israeli military said its troops entered Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border. The November 27 ceasefire sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war that left the group severely weakened. Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region. Israel was required to fully withdraw its troops from the country but has kept them in five places it deems strategic. On Thursday, a patrol of the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon was blocked and pelted with stones by 'several individuals in civilian clothes' in the southern village of Wadi Jilu, UNIFIL said. 'The LAF arrived at the scene and the situation was brought under control,' UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said in a statement, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces. In recent weeks, several incidents have seen civilians in Hezbollah strongholds confront UNIFIL patrols. The mission is part of an international body tasked with monitoring the ceasefire agreement.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store