October 7 · Personal story
Sharon Avigdori
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Be’eri, during a visit to family
Current outcome
Released alive · November 25, 2023
Released with her daughter Noam and returned to Israel after fifty days in captivity.
01
A therapist and mother
Before October 2023, Sharon Avigdori worked as a drama therapist with young children on the autism spectrum at a communication preschool near her home. Her husband, Hen, said that children’s parents would call him about Sharon’s work and that one pupil recognized Sharon from a hostage poster and said her name. Hen contrasted his own television work with hers: he said her work “changes the world.” Sharon and her daughter Noam lived in Hod Hasharon, and Sharon and Noam traveled from Hod Hasharon to visit her relatives in Be’eri. Hen described Noam as a kind student who loved learning and had a quick, sarcastic humor.
02
Visiting family in Be’eri
On October 7, Sharon and Noam were visiting Sharon’s relatives in Kibbutz Be’eri for the holiday. Hen and their older son Omer remained at the family home in Hod Hasharon. Sharon, Noam, and other relatives entered a safe room as the attack began. Hen’s last contact that morning was with Sharon’s brother Avshalom Haran, who first said they were afraid and later reported they were in “big trouble.” The connection then stopped. Sharon and Noam were initially listed as missing. Later, Hen learned that Hamas had taken them and several relatives to Gaza; he and Omer were left waiting in Israel.
03
A mother and daughter held together
Sharon and Noam were held in Gaza for fifty days with four other relatives. Hen later said the six family members were kept in one room and that remaining together was significant to them. While Sharon was captive, her husband and son remained in Hod Hasharon, separated from her and Noam by the uncertainty of the first two weeks, when Hen did not know whether they had been killed or abducted. Sharon’s brother Avshalom was killed on October 7; Hen’s account said the family learned of his death ten days later.
04
Home on November 25
Sharon and Noam were released on November 25, 2023, after fifty days in Gaza. Hen spent the evening waiting for confirmation. He told reporters that he had expected them to arrive but still felt doubt until he saw them inside the vehicle taking them from Gaza. Sharon and Noam reached Sheba Medical Center at about 4 a.m. the next morning, where Hen, Omer, and other relatives reunited with them. Hen later described the moment as the happiest of his life. Sharon came back with Noam while four other relatives released with them also returned; Tal Shoham, Sharon’s niece’s husband, remained in captivity at that time.
05
Work and family life after return
In March 2024, Hen told The Times of Israel that Sharon was working again and Noam was back at school. He described the family of four as being in therapy. Two months later, he told ynet that the first joke Noam made after returning came the next day, when he asked her to do the family’s “cup round” at home. The exchange kept an everyday family habit in view after weeks apart. Hen also said Sharon had returned to caring for children on the autism spectrum. His words joined Sharon’s work with the family’s renewed routines, while he continued speaking publicly for hostages still held in Gaza.