A 16-year-old British girl who went missing after Hamas targeted an Israeli kibbutz was murdered during the attack along with her sister and mother, her family have said.
Noiya Sharabi was feared kidnapped after the 7 October attack on Be’eri kibbutz in which her 13-year-old sister and mother were killed. However, on Sunday her family told the BBC that she too had been murdered.
They said Noiya had been formally identified, describing her as “clever, sensitive, fun and full of life – her smile lit up the room like a beacon”. They added that she “embraced every opportunity to help others, particularly those less fortunate than she, and was a gifted student and linguist”.
“Most importantly, she was an amazing granddaughter, cousin and niece. We are heartbroken she has gone, but forever grateful she was here.”
Her Bristol-born mother, Lianne, 48, moved to Israel when she was 19 as a volunteer on a kibbutz where she also met her husband, Eli, and never left. He is still missing after the attacks.
The couple married in the UK in 2000. UK-based relatives said the family visited at least once a year.
Lianne sent family members a series of panicked messages during the raid on Be’eri kibbutz, two miles from the border with Gaza.
Two Israeli-based uncles of Yahel and Noiya said: “She wrote that she heard gunshots outside her home, that people were screaming and calling in Arabic, and people running all over.
“So they stayed in the safe room until they heard the terrorists had entered the house and tried to open the door,” they told MailOnline.
Communication then ceased and it was not until three days later that Israeli soldiers were able to enter Eli and Lianne’s home, where they saw bullets embedded in the walls of the bomb shelter and in the children’s room, the uncles said.
Another of the girl’s uncles, Yossi, his wife, Nira, and their three daughters were also caught up in the attack. Yossi and one of his children have officially been declared as hostages.
Yahel was confirmed dead by her family on Tuesday in a statement to BBC News. Like her sister, she was originally believed missing and possibly taken hostage. Her family described her as “a bundle of unbridled energy and joy” and “full of adventure and mischief”.
Noiya’s death takes the number of Britons killed in the Hamas attack to at least 10, with another six missing, some of whom are feared to be among the dead or kidnapped.
In total, Israel says that more than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed by Hamas in the attack, with 212 currently being held hostage. The Palestinian health ministry says Israeli strikes since 7 October have killed 4,741 Palestinians, with 15,898 wounded.
