A 16-year-old British girl who went missing after Hamas attacked an Israeli kibbutz was killed along with her sister and mother during the attack, her family have announced.

Noiya Sharabi is believed to have been abducted after her 13-year-old sister and mother were killed in the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Beeri. But on Sunday, her family told the BBC that she too had been murdered.

They said Noiya had officially identified her and described her as "smart, sensitive, funny, and full of life, and her smile lit up a room like a lighthouse." ” he said. They added that she "used every opportunity to help others, especially those less fortunate than herself, and was a talented student and linguist."

``Most importantly, she was a great-granddaughter, a cousin, and a niece.'' ``We are heartbroken that she is gone, but we are eternally grateful that she was here.''

Her mother, Leanne, 48, was born in Bristol and moved to Israel as a kibbutz volunteer at the age of 19, where she also met her husband. She met Eli, but she never left the country. He remains missing after the attack.

The couple married in England in 2000. Relatives based in the UK said the family visited at least once a year.

During the attack on Kibbutz Beeri, two miles from the Gaza border, Leanne sent a series of panicked messages to her family.

Yahel and Noiya's uncle, both of whom live in Israel, said: ``She wrote that she heard gunshots outside her house, people screaming in Arabic, and people running everywhere.

"So they were in the safe locked in the room until they heard that terrorists had broken into the house and tried to open the door," they told MailOnline.

Communication then went out, and Israeli soldiers were able to enter Eli and Leanne's home only three days later, where their uncles said they saw bullet holes in the walls of the air raid shelter and in the children's room. Ta.

Another uncle of the girl, Yossi, his wife Nila, and their three daughters were also involved in the attack. Yossi and one of his children were officially declared hostages.