Lianne Sharabi, 48, and her two daughters, Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, were murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.
Their husband and father, Eli Sharabi, was taken hostage to Gaza. He was released from Hamas captivity on February 8, 2025, after being held hostage for 491 days.
Family said that the bodies of the three women, who all held dual UK-Israeli citizenship, were found in an embrace. Lianne grew up in Bristol and moved to Israel at 19 to work on a kibbutz, where she met Eli and built their family.
Lianne’s parents, Gill and Pete Brisley, who live in the UK, were unable to attend the funeral but sent voice recordings to be played. They told the BBC that their hearts were broken and their lives shattered by the news.
“Our three beautiful girls are no longer with us,” said Gill. “All I can think and hope is that it was quick, the one thing that really upsets me is to think how scared they must have been.”
Gill called Lianne a “devoted mother” who “tried to protect her daughters to the end… Lianne was doing what a mother would do — holding her babies in her arms.”
Gill also recalled her beloved granddaughters, telling the BBC that Yahel had “so much energy… and never sat still… she had a keen interest in the natural world, stars and space, and loved animals.” A eulogy from the family recalled Yahel as riding her bike at “breakneck speed around the kibbutz” and filming TikTok dance videos with friends and family, adding that they have “a Yahel-shaped hole in our lives that can never be filled.”
Noiya, Gill said, “was more quiet, but very affectionate, very caring and compassionate, she spent a lot of time looking after disabled children and adults. She wanted to make a career in social work.” The teenager “would sing at the top of her voice, and chase us round the kitchen” just to make her family members laugh, she said.
Ami Markels wrote on Facebook that his daughter was best friends with Noya, “and I loved when she was over at our house, because she was always laughing and smiling and always came to check what I was cooking… a girl full of good energy with big plans for life.”
Natasha Cohen, Lianne’s close friend, spoke at their funeral: “I adored her and was lucky to have known her, and I’m thankful for the life we shared… you gave value to my life, Lee, my friend… the land of Israel envelops you and your girls today, but so does the heart of beloved England.”
