FROM THE GREAT BARI WEISS, THE FREE PRESS, ELI SHARABI, I WAS A HOSTAGE IN GAZA---THIS IS HOW I SURVIVED

On Friday, the war in Gaza shifted: For the first time, Hamas signaled its openness to releasing all Israeli hostages and immediately entering negotiations for a permanent ceasefire. Those negotiations began on Monday in Egypt and are ongoing.

The news came just days before the two-year anniversary of October 7, 2023—the day Hamas massacred more than 1,200 civilians and kidnapped 251.

Among those taken was Eli Sharabi, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, a small community less than three miles from the Gaza Strip. Sharabi, then 51, was dragged barefoot from his home in front of his wife, Lianne, and their two teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel. More than 16 months later, he emerged from Hamas captivity in Gaza—traumatized, and weighing about 95 pounds—only to learn that his wife and daughters had been killed in the initial attack.

Sharabi’s new book, Hostage, is the first memoir by a released Israeli captive. This week, he sat down for an episode of Honestly with Bari Weiss, to recount his abduction, his release, the physical and psychological torment he endured—and his remarkable decision to choose life in the face of death at every turn. Watch their conversation here.

AND fyi, today: PRESIDENT TRUMP HOSTS EDAN ALEXANDER; SEE MORE AT EverythingCroton: REMEMBERING OCT. 7TH---TRUMP TO HOST EDAN ALEXANDER