October 7 · Personal story
Ofir Engel
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Be’eri, while visiting his girlfriend’s family
Current outcome
Released alive · November 29, 2023
Released after 54 days in captivity and reunited with his family.
01
Before October 7
Ofir Engel lived in Kibbutz Ramat Rachel near Jerusalem, was in 12th grade and played basketball. On the holiday weekend he was visiting his girlfriend Yuval Sharabi and her family in Be’eri.
02
October 7
Ofir was 17 on October 7. He and the Sharabi family sheltered in their sealed room; he stayed in touch with his family until the last contact before he was taken to Gaza with Yossi Sharabi and Be’eri teenager Amit Shani.
03
Captivity
Ofir spent 54 days in captivity. His own later account places him with Yossi Sharabi and Amit Shani in a room about two metres by two metres, with a thin mattress. They ate pita and labneh for breakfast, sometimes rice for dinner, played cards with the guards and showered once a week. Eight days into captivity, Ofir turned 18. He said he feared his captors learning he was no longer legally a child.
04
Return
Ofir was released on November 29, 2023, after 54 days. His parents met him at the hospital; a photograph published days later showed him with Yuval Sharabi.
05
After the return
Ofir returned to Be’eri in December 2023. In his March 2, 2024 interview with ABC, he said he still had not fully understood what had happened. Learning that Yuval and his friends had survived brought relief when he first reached Israeli soldiers, but the continued captivity of others remained with him every day. He urged people to press for a deal that would bring the remaining hostages home.