UNITED NATIONS — Former Hamas hostage Eli Sharabi went before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with his heartbreaking story and a simple plea: “Bring them all home now.”
Sharabi has been free for less than six weeks, but in that time, he has already advocated for the hostages and spoken with world leaders about the plight of those still languishing in Hamas’ hands.
“On Oct. 7, my heaven turned to hell,” Sharabi, who was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri, recalled. “Sirens began, Hamas terrorists invaded and I was ripped away from my family, never to see them again.”
Kibbutz Be’eri saw some of the worst of the Oct. 7 massacre. More than 100 of its residents were murdered, and 30 were taken hostage during the attacks, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Among those killed were Sharabi’s wife and two daughters. He only learned of their murders when he returned from Gaza.
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“Then I arrived home. They told me my mother and sister were waiting for me. I said, ‘Get me my wife and daughters.’ And that was when I knew. They were gone. They had been murdered,” Sharabi told the council. Sharabi’s brother, Yossi, was also taken hostage but was killed in captivity. His body is still in Gaza.
When Sharabi was released Feb. 8 alongside Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, the world noticed that all three men looked gaunt. At the time, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said it was “what a crime against humanity looks like.” President Donald Trump said the men “looked like Holocaust survivors” and seemed to be “in horrible condition.”
Sharabi told the council that when he got back to Israel after spending 491 days in Hamas captivity, he weighed just 44 kilograms (97 pounds). He spoke about the pain of starvation and how, through the beatings — including one so severe his ribs were broken — he was consumed by hunger.
Sharabi testified that he was only given a pita a day and would be forced to beg for extra food. That was when he told the council where the U.N. humanitarian aid was going.
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“I know that you discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza very often. But let me tell you, as an eyewitness, I saw what happened to that aid. Hamas stole it,” Sharabi said. “I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the U.N. and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnel. Dozens and dozens of boxes, paid by your governments, feeding terrorists who tortured me and murdered my family.”
Many hostages who have returned say Hamas would eat in front of them as torture, never giving any food to the captives.
“When you speak of humanitarian aid, remember this: Hamas eats like kings while hostages starve. Hamas steals from civilians. Hamas blocks aid from reaching those who truly need it,” Sharabi told the council.
Sharabi also slammed the U.N., the Red Cross and the world for their silence and inaction.
“Where was the United Nations? Where was the Red Cross? Where was the world?” he asked.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon echoed this point, saying the security council “erased the hostages” and failed to mention “the humanitarian crimes Hamas is deliberately inflicting on the hostages.” Danon then accused the “entire U.N. system” of abandoning its responsibility and the hostages.
Danon emphasized the war would not end until the remaining hostages were returned home.
Sharabi concluded his remarks with one demand.
“Bring them all home. No more excuses. No more delays. If you stand for humanity — prove it. Bring them home,” he said.
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