Podcast Summary: "Finding Hope in the Tunnel of Hamas, with Eli Sharabi"

Ask Haviv Anything – Episode 49
Host: Haviv Rettig Gur
Guest: Eli Sharabi
Date: October 8, 2025

Overview

This deeply moving episode of "Ask Haviv Anything" features journalist Haviv Rettig Gur in conversation with Eli Sharabi — survivor of 491 days in Hamas captivity after being abducted during the October 7 massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, and the author of the first book published by a former hostage, Hostage. As Israel marks the two-year anniversary of the attack, Eli reflects on his captivity, the loss of his wife and daughters, the realities of life underground, and the complex, sometimes harrowing, sometimes hopeful, lessons gleaned from his ordeal. The episode is a powerful meditation on resilience, memory, and the struggle to hold onto hope in the face of unthinkable suffering.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Purpose and Importance of Telling the Story (05:07)

• Eli’s motivation: Emphasizes the importance of giving testimony for survivors and the world. He wishes to communicate both the horrors endured and the glimmers of humanity and hope that helped him survive.

“Even then, in all this darkness … I wanted people know that you always can find some light that gives you strength to survive.” – Eli (05:21)

2. Personal Loss and Family Memories (06:00–09:30)

• Remembering his daughters, Noya and Yael:
  • Noya: Quiet, empathetic, loved working with autistic children, and bonded with her father over music.
  • Yael: Adventurous and sporty, recently completed a scuba course, and inspired Eli to try new things.
• Coping: Despite the pain and loss, Eli feels honoring his lost family means continuing to live "to rebuild it ... make them proud of me." (09:32)

“I remember them smiling. That’s what’s important.” – Eli (09:04)

3. Inside Gaza: Civilians, Society, and Hostility (10:10–16:20)

• Experiences with civilians: Eli explains that fleeing from Hamas wasn’t an option — Gazan civilians were often more dangerous to him than the militants.

“All the civilians I faced... I haven't seen any of them that they're uninvolved.” – Eli (11:36)

• Hostility of the local population: Hamas fighters warned him to keep quiet for fear that locals would lynch them for harboring Israelis (11:40).
• Ignorance & generational differences in Gaza: Older Gazans who had worked in Israel tended to be less radicalized, while younger generations, steeped exclusively in Hamas-run education and media, were angrier and more ignorant about the outside world.

“They are brainwashed in their mosques … you have to re-educate all of them.” – Eli (15:28)

4. Conversations in the Tunnels: Hamas Worldview (16:21–19:30)

• Naïveté and rhetorical extremes: Hamas fighters spewed grandiose plans — conquering England, America, spearheading world jihad — yet demonstrated limited understanding of global realities.
• Isolation: The fighters’ understanding of the outside was so stunted that a 25-year-old American film, Titanic, was considered excitingly “new.”

“It was a sign of just their isolation.” – Haviv (18:57) “Amazing how people still in 2023, 2024 ... live still going to mosques and brainwashed by religious things.” – Eli (19:04)

5. Mutual Misunderstandings: The "Go Back Where You Came From" Narrative (19:34–22:07)

• Hamas worldview: Fighters repeatedly told Israeli hostages to “just go back where you came from.” Eli points out the absurdity, noting many Israelis trace heritage to places Jews can never return, like Iran, Yemen, Libya.

“Just give us … reassurance that we can go back there and we will do [it], no problem.” – Eli (20:57)

• Ignorance persists: Even when confronted with this impossibility, Hamas rank-and-file seemed unable to grasp it.

6. Morale Among Hamas Fighters (22:07–27:06)

• Unexpected war duration: Hamas fighters believed the war would last only a few months and grew demoralized as it dragged on.
• Emotional collapse: By late 2024 fighters were “crying almost every night,” suffering panic attacks, and longing for a ceasefire, watching U.S. elections closely and hoping a new president (Trump) would end the conflict.

“They cried almost every night to their pillows. … Some of them now regret October 7th.” – Eli (24:50, 25:21)

• Bravado vs. fear: Fighters’ proclamations of martyrdom contrasted with terror and tears when faced with actual combat orders.

7. Hamas Governance: Tunnels, Hostages, and Humanitarian Aid (27:07–28:22)

• Tunnel life: Only Hamas members allowed shelter underground; Palestinian civilians excluded.
• Aid diversion: Humanitarian aid with UN and other markings regularly siphoned into the tunnels for militants, while hostages starved.

“They had enough food for themselves.” – Eli (28:22)

8. Cruelty, Starvation, and Israeli Policy Repercussions (28:22–33:01)

• Starvation as policy: Medical checks only to confirm captives could endure more deprivation.
  • Quote: “He [the doctor] checked us, he saw blood pressure is not okay…but [the commander] said, well, they probably eat better than me and they're fine." (29:33)
• Israeli policy impact: Every belligerent or punitive statement by Israeli politicians, especially Ben-Gvir, resulted in immediate retaliatory worsening of conditions for hostages.

“Every time that any politician felt … to be proud for what he's doing … affect us immediately … They came and said, that's what they said in the news. So we’re going to do the same to you.” – Eli (31:11)

9. On Government and Responsibility (33:01–35:12)

• Eli refuses to grade leaders: He does not directly criticize or blame but notes that families remain in agony, and the government has clear responsibilities to the hostages.
• Advice: Talk less about punitive measures; public Israeli rhetoric directly impacts the safety of those still captive.

10. On Protest Movements (37:17–38:59)

• Protests as lifeline: Eli powerfully credits Israeli protests for hostage release momentum and for hope underground.

“The protest helped us a lot … it gave loads of support to their hostage families … hearing [Hamas] say, ‘dozens of thousands outside in Tel Aviv… protest for you.’ That gave us … faith that … we will be released.” – Eli (37:38)

11. Failure of International Aid Organizations (39:18–41:38)

• Failure to act: While not blaming the Red Cross or UN personally, Eli says these international bodies “definitely” bear responsibility for failing to assist or pressure for hostages' release.

“They have responsibility. It’s something different. … Someone needs to be responsible for something.” – Eli (40:15, 41:39)

12. Hope as a Muscle and Moral Resistance (41:39–46:53)

• Hope in hell: Hostages developed rituals (“say something good every day”) in the tunnels to stave off despair and retain dignity, even as they endured hunger and humiliation.

“Hope is a muscle … you have to exercise.” – Haviv summarizing Eli’s book message (41:41)

• Solidarity: The group refused offers of extra food in exchange for Quran recitation if not shared equally; unity was their moral stand and shield.

“Everything we’re doing together as one unit … it was very important for us … you cannot divide us.” – Eli (45:36)

13. Saving Alon and Survivors’ Bonds (46:53–51:47)

• Alon’s story: Deep bond with fellow hostage Alon; Eli sees himself as a surrogate father, teaching Alon to protect himself in the harsh reality of captivity.

“We become really, really good friends there … to leave him was one of my hardest moments in captivity.” – Eli (47:35)

14. Message to the Jewish World (51:47–53:14)

• Unity above division: Eli implores Jews and Israelis to stand together, regardless of differences.

“We have more in common as Israelis, as Jewish. … The only way is to be united … and this is the only way we can defeat our enemies.” – Eli (51:55)

• Living with memory, but for life: Eli will always carry his family’s memory, “but there will be alongside my life and not instead of my life. And I'm quite sure I'm going to rebuild my life.” (52:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On hope: “Hope is a muscle you have to exercise.” – (41:39)
• On solidarity as resistance: “We refused to get food just for ourselves, not if it wasn’t for everybody else. We tried to show them that we are one unit, that you cannot divide us.” – (45:36)
• On protests: “That gave us a lot of faith that … we one day will be released.” – Eli (38:59)
• On responsibility: “Someone needs to be responsible for something.” – Eli (41:39)
• On rebuilding life: “There will be alongside my life and not instead of my life. … I’m going to rebuild my life.” – Eli (52:40)

Important Timestamps

• [05:07] – Purpose for writing the book; testimony and hope
• [07:02] – Memories of Noya and Yael
• [11:36] – Hostility of Gaza civilians, inability to escape
• [13:09] – Gaza’s generational ignorance and brainwashing
• [16:56] – Hamas tunnel conversations: radical worldview and isolation
• [19:34] – The “go back where you came from” exchange
• [22:55] – Hamas’ emotional exhaustion, longing for ceasefire
• [27:07] – Tunnels: exclusive to Hamas fighters and aid theft
• [28:50] – Starvation, cruelty, and indifference to pain
• [31:11] – Impact of Israeli politicians’ rhetoric on hostages’ conditions
• [37:36] – How protests helped hostage morale and hope
• [40:15] – International failures and responsibility
• [41:39] – Exercising hope, moral solidarity among hostages
• [47:35] – Bond with fellow hostage Alon; mentorship and survival
• [51:55] – Message of unity to Jews and Israelis
• [52:40] – Life after trauma: memory integrated into living

Tone and Style

The episode is unflinchingly personal, emotional, and honest, with Eli’s soft-spoken strength permeating every story. Haviv’s questions are direct but always empathetic, sometimes choked with emotion at the enormity of Elie’s loss and resilience.

Conclusion

This special episode offers unparalleled insight into both the suffering and the resilience of Israeli hostages. Eli Sharabi’s testimony is a call for renewed unity, for hope in darkness, and for responsibility at every level — communal, governmental, and international, delivered with clarity and immense dignity. For listeners, it is an unforgettable account not merely of tragedy, but of the human will to survive, remember, and rebuild.