Eli Sharabi Speaks at UN Security Council About His Ordeal of Abuse and Starvation in Gaza Captivity

In a powerful and emotional address, Eli Sharabi, a survivor of Hamas captivity, spoke before the UN Security Council, detailing the horrors he endured during his 491 days held hostage by the terror group. His testimony opened the special session dedicated to the plight of the hostages still held in Gaza.

Sharabi, kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, recounted how his life was shattered in an instant. “I didn't know I should have said goodbye forever,” he said, reflecting on the moment he was abducted. His peaceful home was destroyed, and he described how over 100 terrorists celebrated as they carried him into Gaza.

He painted a grim picture of the brutality he faced: being beaten as terrorists transported him, and encountering mobs of civilians cheering his captors and attempting to lynch him at the border. “I was their trophy,” Sharabi told the Council.

For over a year, he was held underground, constantly chained, starved, beaten, and humiliated. “The chains they kept me in tore into my skin from the moment I entered to the moment I was released,” he revealed, emphasizing the merciless treatment he endured. “I was treated worse than an animal.”

Sharabi also expressed anguish over the complicity he witnessed from civilians in Gaza, noting, “They saw our suffering and cheered our kidnappers. They were definitely involved.”

One of the most heartbreaking moments of his captivity came when his captors showed him a photo of his brother Yossi, taunting him with the claim that Yossi was dead. Sharabi clung to hope despite the torment, yearning to see his family again only to learn upon his release that his wife Leanne and daughters Noya and Yahel had been murdered on October 7.

Sharabi criticized the absence of humanitarian agencies throughout his ordeal. “Where was the Red Cross? Where was the United Nations?” he asked.

Outside UN headquarters in New York, supporters gathered in solidarity. Sharabi’s brother, Sharon, expressed gratitude: “Thank you everybody for showing your support. It warms our hearts to know that wherever we are, we have people by our side."

Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, underscored the significance of Sharabi’s testimony. “While the UN continues its attacks on Israel, Eli will remind the world who we are fighting for,” he said. “We will not stop until Hamas is defeated and every hostage returns home.”

The ordeal of Sharabi and other hostages is a chilling reminder of Hamas’s brutality. Israeli President Isaac Herzog has described the condition of the freed hostages as a “crime against humanity,” with survivors showing signs of severe malnutrition and abuse.

Eli Sharabi’s testimony stands as a call to the international community: justice for the victims, accountability for Hamas’s atrocities, and an unrelenting demand for the return of every hostage.

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