Family of missing UK teen say she was murdered in Hamas attack

Yahel, Lianne and Noiya

Yahel, left, with mother Lianne, centre, and sister Noiya

By Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

The family of missing British teenager Noiya Sharabi have said she was murdered in the Hamas attack, along with her 13-year-old sister and mother.

Noiya, 16, and Yahel disappeared after Hamas attacked Kibbutz Be'eri in southern Israel and killed her UK-born mother Lianne.

Her British family told the BBC she has now been formally identified.

They said: "Noiya was clever, sensitive, fun and full of life - her smile lit up the room like a beacon."

The sisters had been missing since the massacre at the kibbutz on 7 October. The girls' father Eli is still missing. Other relatives have been kidnapped.

Confirming Noiya's death, the family added 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 uncle in Israel, Raz Matalon, said: "For us it is the end of the world. Noiya, Yahel and Lianne will always be in our hearts."

After Yahel's death was confirmed last week the family said she was "a bundle of energy" who loved "riding her bike at breakneck speed around the kibbutz, playing football, singing and dancing to TikTok and YouTube with sister, Noiya, and, on occasions her British cousins".

Their mother Lianne, 48, grew up in Staple Hill, on the outskirts of Bristol and first moved to Israel as a volunteer on a kibbutz when she was 19, before relocating to the country permanently. Relatives based in the UK have said the family visited at least once a year.

WhatsApp messages seen by the BBC reveal the chaos that engulfed the Be'eri community when Hamas began targeting southern Israel with rockets in the early hours of 7 October.

Lianne messaged family members to say she could hear gunfire and shouting in Arabic nearby. Living so close to the Gaza barrier, she was no stranger to security alerts. But "this is a whole other story", she told them.

It is now believed that 10 British citizens have been killed in the Hamas attacks, one has been kidnapped and at least five are missing.

More on Israel-Gaza war

Related topics

More on this story