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The parents of a British-Israeli woman killed in her home by Hamas alongside her two children say they were found “all cuddled together”.
Bristol-born Lianne Sharabi, 48, and her two teenage daughters were killed when Hamas stormed their home in Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, on 7 October.
Gill and Pete Brisley said Lianne was a “devoted mother” who “tried to protect her daughters to the end”.
“Lianne was doing what a mother would do – holding her babies in her arms.”
Mr and Mrs Brisley spoke to the BBC about their daughter and grandchildren Noiya and Yahel just days after their funeral.
“Our three beautiful girls are no longer with us,” Mrs Brisley said.
Describing Lianne as a “wonderful” person, Mrs Brisley said that Israel was normally a “very friendly” and “a lovely place to bring up a family”.
“Where they were living, under normal circumstances, was the safest place to bring up kids: great nurseries, schools, they knew everybody and they did sport, bike rides, visits to other parts of Israel,” she said.
That was until Hamas moved in on their home on 7 October, a house they had moved to three years before.
Mr Brisley said he first saw the news on the TV.
“I switched on the TV, saw there was trouble, sent messages to Lianne to ask her if she was OK, and there was no response,” he said.
“I think by then she had already gone.
“Their house was one of the nearest to the fence where the Hamas soldiers came in. Everybody on the street was killed or badly injured.”
Mrs Brisley said they later found out the bodies of their daughter and grandchildren had been found by a soldier “all cuddled together with Lianne doing what a mother would do – holding her babies in her arms, trying to protect them at the end”.
“A small comfort but a comfort nevertheless,” she added.
“I have horrible images in my mind, waking or sleeping. All I can hope was that it was a quick death.”
Mrs Brisley said Lianne, who went to Mangotsfield primary school, was a “happy child” growing up and had “always wanted to travel the world”.
She said Lianne eventually moved to Israel from Staple Hill in Bristol aged 19 to work on a kibbutz – a community where people voluntarily live and work together.
“She went to Israel on a working holiday there, three months later, she rang to say she met a man,” Mrs Brisley said.
She said Lianne then built her life there, learning and becoming fluent in Hebrew and having two daughters, 13-year-old Yahel and Noiya, 16.
“They were beautiful and lovely grandchildren,” Mrs Brisley said.
“They ran up to us, put their arms around us every time we got to the gates of the airport.”
‘Whole family together’
Mrs Brisley said Yahel had “so much energy”. She had started scuba diving lessons and “never sat still”.
“She had a keen interest in the natural world, stars and space, and loved animals,” she said.
“Noiya was more quiet, but very affectionate, very caring and compassionate, she spent a lot of time looking after disabled children and adults. She wanted to make a career in social work.”
Mrs Brisley said while she could not hold a tune, Noiya loved to dance and sing.
“To make us laugh she would sing at the top of her voice, and chase us round the kitchen. What a dreadful voice but a great dancer,” she added.
Mrs Brisley said she last saw her daughter and grandchildren in July, after they attended Yahel’s Bat Mitzvah, where they spent their two-week holiday “playing in the pool” and “playing silly games”.
“The whole family was together,” she said.
Unable to travel for the funeral, the family said they said their goodbyes by watching videos of the service on WhatsApp.
“There were hundreds of people there. They were a very popular family, the girls were loved by everyone.
“We feel numb… it is what it is, we cant change it,” Mrs Brisley said. “We must get through it.”
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