Hostage

Sharabi and Or spend a day in a new, primitive tunnel with a small group of captors: a commander and two guards. With no toilet, they dig a cesspit in the corner. The space is colder and damper than the previous tunnel, and the earlier tunnel’s tiled walls and basic amenities now feel luxurious by comparison. Despite the filth and lack of blankets, the guards are relatively restrained and provide more food than before—pita supplemented with halva, cheese, and beans—while the new tracksuits help them endure the chill.

The commander seems surprised that the hostages know they are supposed to be released on Saturday and insists nothing is certain, reinforcing that they remain in the dark until the last possible moment. On Wednesday night, Or hears Hebrew outside the sandbag barrier and believes someone is being questioned, including mention of “December 24.” Sharabi recognizes the date as Ohad Ben Ami’s birthday and realizes a friend from Kibbutz Be’eri is nearby. When Ohad enters, the two embrace for a long time, stunned by the physical reality of recognizing someone from home. Ohad is drastically thinner and older-looking.

Ohad shares his captivity story, including that his wife, Raz, was kidnapped and that they were initially held together with 13-year-old Gali Tarshansky, who was abducted alone and later released with Raz in the first deal. He recounts brutal beatings in his tunnel and how he confronted a commander to stop the violence, successfully shifting treatment. He also provides precious fragments of outside news—major militant leaders killed, military operations, and the murder of six hostages in September—leaving Sharabi and Or shaken.

That night, the Hamas commander privately shows Sharabi a photo of his brother Yossi and warns him to steel himself. The next day, the commander claims Yossi was kidnapped and killed when an IDF strike hit the house where he was held. Sharabi initially doubts the claim, but Ohad confirms it, saying he has seen an official IDF spokesman statement. Sharabi reflects on moving to Be’eri as a teenager, building a life there, and how Yossi later followed him to the kibbutz with his family.

Ohad also warns them about Hamas’s staged release ceremonies. The next morning, the reason for the new tunnel becomes clear: It will be used as a filming site. Hamas records repeated, directed “scenes” of the hostages, then moves them to a well-furnished house to film scripted on-camera statements. Exhausted and filthy, Sharabi accepts that this is the condition in which they will be released.

On Friday night, Sharabi waits in tense uncertainty as his captors repeatedly insist the next day’s release is only a “maybe.” He tries to stay emotionally contained, reminding himself that anything can collapse until the Red Cross hands them to the IDF. He lies awake thinking about the staged parades Ohad has warned about and dreads becoming part of a propaganda spectacle rather than experiencing a quiet transfer.

Before dawn on Saturday, the captors wake Sharabi, Ohad, and Or and lead them up through an extremely deep tunnel. In low-ceilinged sections they must crawl, getting smeared with mud and cold earth. At the exit they receive clean but ugly brown outfits and wait at the tunnel mouth while an IDF drone buzzes overhead. The captors delay, frightened of an airstrike, and taunt the hostages that Netanyahu wants them dead. After the drone moves away, they emerge into a ruined area and travel through junk-strewn routes in a vehicle with blacked-out windows; their heads are forced down and their eyes blindfolded. Midway, the commander buys them new black slip-on shoes and makes them change.

They stop in a sand-and-rubble landscape where Hamas operatives rehearse the hostages for the ceremony, choreographing every step, gesture, and line. A Hebrew-speaking Hamas media handler coaches them on stage questions, including scripted statements about Netanyahu and about Yossi. The operatives threaten that any deviation will cancel the release and return them to the tunnels.

The car arrives at the actual stage, surrounded by a massive crowd. Hamas forms a protective human square, shielding the hostages from the mob. Onstage, Sharabi follows the script exactly—answering questions, smiling, waving—while the interviewer leads a call-and-response chant with the crowd. Afterward, they are placed in a Red Cross vehicle as people bang on the windows. A Red Cross worker named Felicity tells them the convoy is armored and they are safe; Sharabi breaks down crying. Ohad confronts Felicity, demanding to know why the Red Cross never reached them, and she quietly says they were prevented.

As the convoy nears the handover point, Sharabi confirms their identities to an IDF officer by phone. He reaches Israeli forces and sees the flag. A female officer tells him his mother and sister, Osnat, are waiting at Camp Reim and avoids mentioning his wife and daughters. In that silence, Sharabi understands Lianne, Noiya, and Yahel are gone. He keeps moving, focusing on reuniting with his mother and sister as he steps into freedom.