‘I choose life’: For freed Israeli hostages, every moment is now precious

Taken with their children or alone. Held for weeks, months or years. Confined in captors’ homes or Hamas tunnels as war raged above them. Israeli former hostages seized on October 7, 2023, say they now cherish even the smallest moments of freedom. Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack was Israel’s single deadliest day. The terrorists rampaged through villages, a music festival, and army bases, killing some 1,200 people and dragging 251 hostages back to Gaza. They included civilians, soldiers, men, women, children and elderly people, Israelis and foreign nationals. Most were freed in return for Palestinian prisoners during ceasefires between Israel and Hamas, but dozens were killed. “Freedom has completely changed the way I see life,” said Emily Damari, 30, who was abducted wounded from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and released in January 2025. Her ordeal taught her not to take anything for granted, she said. “One day in captivity feels like one week. You want to give up at every moment, but I did not,” said Damari, who has recently married and launched a clothing line in Israel. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms “Today, I open the fridge and I say thank you. I drink cold water and I say thank you. I am thankful for everything, big things and little things. Gratitude has become central to who I am,” said Damari. “Being free, at home, surrounded by my family and my people is something I will never take for granted again.” Former hostage Emily Damari, right, marries Danielle Amit, center; Damari’s mother, Mandy Damari, far left, on August 27, 2026 (Courtesy) ‘I choose life’ Eli Sharabi, 54, was seized from nearby Kibbutz Be’eri. His British-born wife Lianne and their two daughters Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, were slain by the attackers. His brother Yossi was taken hostage and killed in Gaza. In February 2025, Sharabi was released, appearing emaciated and skeletally thin, from 491 days of captivity which he says included being held in a tunnel, hungry, shackled and beaten. Advertisement Released hostage Eli Sharabi reunites with his mother Chana and sister Osnat at an army facility near the Gaza border after 491 days in Hamas captivity, February 8, 2025. His wife and two daughters were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. (IDF). “I learned in captivity how precious every moment and every choice can be, and I carry that understanding with me now. I choose to look ahead, to keep going and to use the life I have in a meaningful way,” said Sharabi. Since his release, he has helped establish the Shalva Sharabi Family Center in the southern city of Ashkelon with the disability charity Shalva, to treat families coping with trauma and disabilities, in commemoration of his own family lost. “I choose life. I choose to keep living fully, while carrying Lianne, Noiya, Yahel and Yossi with me in everything I do.” Eli Sharabi, who was abducted during the Hamas cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and held hostage by Hamas for 16 months, poses with his new book “Hostage” for a photo in Herzliya, on September 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) His wife and daughters believed deeply in caring for others, he said. “Their kindness and care for others will continue. Families will walk through these doors and receive help, care and hope in a place that carries their name. That gives me strength and makes me very proud,” said Sharabi. Slowly building a future Hagar Brodutch was seized from Kfar Aza with her three children and her neighbor’s daughter, Avigail Idan, who fled to their house after her parents were killed. They were freed in a brief truce in November 2023. Life after captivity, she said, can be far more complicated than sometimes portrayed. Advertisement “The daily struggle is immense, especially for children. I believe it will take many more years before captivity becomes just a shadow that walks alongside us, rather than something that defines who we are,” said Brodutch. Recently, Brodutch, 43, has begun taking classes in pastry baking, for which she has long had a passion. “This is about much more than learning how to bake. It is about finding a new path, creating something with my own hands, and slowly building a future,” she said. Hagar Brodutch, 43, a former hostage, fills a piping bag during a class at a culinary school where she is learning French pastry, in Tel Aviv, Israel, September 16, 2026. (Shir Torem/Reuters) “During my time in Hamas captivity, I began to understand that if I were released, returning to my previous life and working in management might no longer be possible,” said Brodutch. “I chose pastry as a form of therapy, but also as a way to create something new for myself, with the hope that one day it could become my profession,” she said. Kfar Aza was one of the hardest-hit communities in Hamas’ attack. Aviva Siegel, 65, was kidnapped with her husband Keith. She was released in November 2023, but Keith was held until February 2025. Aviva joined the hostage release campaign movement in Israel while her husband was still being held. Their reunion and her children and grandchildren, and even strangers she meets, give her strength every day, she says. “I feel that I’m not alone and that there’s so much love in this world and we need to keep it with both our hands,” she said. “I feel very, very lucky to be alive.” Help us report truthfully on social media As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos. This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world. If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism , please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. 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