TRAGIC TRIBUTES
Brit sisters & mum killed by Hamas terrorists in kibbutz massacre are laid to rest in Israel two weeks on from slaughter
HUNDREDS of heartbroken mourners today said an emotional goodbye to Brit mum Lianne Sharabi and her two daughters who were slaughtered by Hamas.
Bristol-born Lianne Sharabi, 48 and daughters Noiya, 16, and 13-year-old Yahel died in the bloodbath at the Be'eri kibbutz on October 7.
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Crowds gathered to pay their last respects today amid high emotion at Kfar ha-Rif Cemetery east of Ashdod in southern Israel.
The girls’ dad Eli, 51, and their uncle Yossi, 53, are still missing, a heart-wrenching torment for their loved ones which was summed up by t-shirts worn by scores of mourners.
Featuring a happy family snap of all five, it included a message in Hebrew and English which read: “Lianne, Noiya and Yahel have been murdered – Bring back Eli and Yossi.”
Friends - including tormented teenagers - lined up to read emotional eulogies with the youngsters struggling to get to the end of the tear-drenched words.
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Loved ones had been praying that Noiya had somehow survived the horror in which her younger sister and mother died.
But Israeli authorities broke the news on Sunday that they had identified missing Noiya’s remains among those slaughtered.
Lianne's mother, Gill Brisley, said in her eulogy that her daughter was "the light of our family's life".
"She had a wonderful caring nature. She would help anyone in trouble, be it physical, emotional or financial, she would be there for them.
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“She was funny, with a dry sense of humour - sometimes irreverent, but never malicious.
“She fully embraced the life on Be’eri and made many friends over the years."
Lianne travelled to Israel to volunteer on the kibbutz 28 years ago where she met Eli and fell in love with him. They went on to marry and have their two daughters.
One of Lianne's three brothers, who grew up in the UK, described "his little sister" as "forever part of me".
Discussing the family she had made in Israel, Ian said: "Eli, then Noiya, then Yahel appeared to complete Lianne, and her reason for living became so much deeper."
Her younger brother Steve said: “Although I can't believe Lianne's gone, I also can't believe that I was lucky enough to have had her as my sister but also, as my friend.
"I'll see you again sis. But not yet.”
And speaking of her two teenage daughters, the family described Yahel first as "a bundle of energy" with a permanent "sense of adventure".
"She was funny, mischievous and a joy to be with. We will never know what she could have become - a vet, an entertainer, a naturalist, maybe even the first Israeli woman in space.
"All we know is that there is a Yahel-shaped hole in our lives that can never be filled."
For Noiya, her family called her "a beautiful and talented young woman" in their eulogy.
"Always the big sister, she looked after Yahel and was very proud of her little sister. She worked hard at school and always got good grades.
"She loved to sing and dance...She would often chase us around the room, singing at the top of her voice, to make us laugh."
"She would surely have made a difference to many lives," they added.
The service, in the village of Kfar Harif, 28 miles from the where they were killed, heard that the family had been blissfully happy.
But their contended family life was shattered on October 7 when Hamas savages rampaged through their village - just 4km from the Gaza border.
Lianne and Yahel’s bodies were discovered early on and Noiya's body was formally identified almost a week later.
Now the family are still praying for good news, hoping that Eli, and his brother Yossi, were abducted rather than killed and are still alive in Gaza.
Fix You by Coldplay was played and the service ended with another number, by popular Israeli singer-songwriter Hanan Ben Ari.
Those attending the service hardly needed reminding that they are now a country at war.
But before an official delivered yet another wake-up call when he read out a warning in case the siren sounded.
He said: “In case of a siren please do not run, do not panic, lie on the ground and cover your heads.”
A soldier armed with an M16 also stood guard and military helicopters flew overhead.
Mourners tried to comfort each other but as the coffins were lowered down, each draped with the Israeli flag, it became too much for some.
Friends and family who have been left shattered by this Hamas horror, one of many, clutched each other as they wept.
Before the funeral service, the girls’ uncle Sharon Sharabi, 48, had told The Sun: "Our suffering could not be worse - my heart is broken.”
Israel is still facing the horrific task of identifying mutilated bodies, including burned babies, weeks after Hamas's killing spree.
So far, Israel has only been able to identify around 83 per cent of the dead bodies.
A makeshift mortuary set up at a military base sees an army of medics and forensic and dental experts working around the clock to identify the dead.
Over a dozen refrigerated containers are used to store the bodies, which Senior Israeli police officer Gilad Bahat calls "the gates of hell".
"I’ve been in the police service for more than 27 years. I have been to a lot of terror attack scenes. I’ve seen a lot in my life, many bodies, but never have I seen such sights,"; Mr Bahat told .
Kibbutz Be-eri was the scene of one of Hamas's worst massacres as hundreds of the crazed gunmen swarmed the town and slaughtered dozens of civilians in their bedrooms.
Israeli troops said they discovered unimaginable horrors of dead babies and 20 children tied up and burned in the village.
Sickening photos showed bullet-ridden coat pegs in a bloodstained nursery devastated by the militants.
Chilling pictures of the horror house where the slaughter of the Sharabi family took place reveal the absolute savagery of the Hamas butchers.
The Sharabis’ smart, recently built two-storey cul-de-sac property appears to be untouched outside but the kitchen and dining area is littered with bloodied debris and bullet casings.
Their beloved dog Moka, a big friendly cross-breed, can be seen lying dead under a white sheet close to the sofa.
Half-deflated party balloons in an upstairs bedroom also offer a heartbreaking hint of happier times which have been shattered by unimaginable cruelty.
But worse sights await in a hallway where a huge blackened smear of blood appears to be the spot where Lianne died.
And upstairs, another bloodstain tells its horror story in a room where Yahel slept — heavily staining the carpet close to a pair of pink pyjamas and a vanity case.
Uncle Sharon Sharabi broke down while watching shocking video footage of the bedroom where Yahel was slain.
Moments after finding out she was dead he told The Sun: “Our suffering could not be worse than this — my heart is broken.
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“Yes, having seen the pictures I can confirm that the room with the child’s bed is Yahel. I can see the blood and try not to imagine what might have happened there.
“It took all of my strength to look at these images but I am grateful to you for showing them to us — they will tell the world what the terrorists did.”
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