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Freed hostage Eli Sharabi has spoken about the horrific conditions in which he was held captive in his first interview since his release earlier this month.
Sharabi, who was abducted from his family home during the October 7 attacks, said that he was starved and kept chained for the nearly 500 days he spent in Gaza.
Speaking to Channel 12, he recalled: “I was chained by the legs from the day I was taken until the last moment.
“Some [hostages] were chained part of the time. I was chained for 16 months. Heavy locks tore into my flesh.”
He reported that he was subjected to a regime physical abuse by Hamas terrorists but that the intense hunger was the worst of all.
"You dream about food every single day. Not the beatings, not the pain—just food,” he recalled, adding: “You dream of picking up an apple or drinking water. At the worst points, eating once a day, a bowl of pasta—300, 250 calories.
"You already see your stomach disappearing, see yourself shrinking.”
Sharabi’s experiences closely mirror the testimonies of other freed hostages, who reported torture, starvation and psychological abuse.
But the peak of his suffering was yet to come as Sharabi was only informed of the deaths of his wife – British-Israeli Lianne – and their two teenage daughters, Yahel and Noiya, when he got back to Israel –almost 500 days after they were murdered by Hamas.
Indeed, during his release ceremony, at which he looked so emaciated that he drew comparisons with Holocaust survivors, Sharabi spoke movingly of how much he was looking forward to returning to his loved ones.
“I thought I was returning to my family. I had no idea,” he told Channel 12.
He recalled the moment when the family was separated as he was dragged away to Gaza, saying: “The scene is simply horrific, a terrible fear that is unlike anything.
"Ten terrorists inside the house. Two of them grab me, grab the girls and stand with them in the kitchen.
"And all that time, Lianne tells them: ‘British passport.’ She thinks it will save them.”
Later in the interview, Sharabi discussed the friendship he struck up with his fellow captive, Alon Ohel, while they were held together.
According to his family, Ohel was injured during his abduction as a piece of shrapnel entered his eye, leaving him almost blind on one side.
His health appears to have deteriorated, with his mother calling for a special release to be arranged on medical grounds – Ohel was not listed among the 33 hostages scheduled for release in Phase One of the ceasefire, all of whom have now been returned.
Sharabi revealed that the moment he was separated from Ohel for his own release was intensely emotional.
He said: “The day I left, they tore me from him. He refused to let go. He said he was happy for me. I promised him I wouldn’t leave him there, that I would fight for him.”
Yet despite all he has endured, Sharabi insisted he was thankful for all life has given him, particularly his all-too-short time with his wife and children.
He concluded: “I am lucky. Lucky to have had Lianne for 30 years, lucky to have had my daughters. Lucky they didn’t kill me.”
English (US) ·