Israeli hostage survives extreme torture and hunger

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Freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi has revealed harrowing details of his captivity under Hamas in Gaza, where he endured severe torture and near-starvation, leading to a devastating loss of 40% of his body weight before his release in early April.

Upon returning to Israel, the 52-year-old received devastating news that his wife Lianne and teenage daughters Noiya and Yahel, aged 16 and 13, had been killed by Hamas during their brutal October 7 assault on Kibbutz Be’eri.

His severely malnourished appearance upon release drew widespread attention, including comments from former President Donald Trump, who compared the released hostages to Holocaust survivors – a parallel that Sharabi’s testimony sadly confirms.

"They break my ribs"

Eli Sharabi spent almost 500 days as a hostage in Gaza. He recounts the torture and starvation:

"You're tied with ropes that tear into your flesh…I remember not being able to fall asleep because of the pain. The ropes are digging into your flesh, and… pic.twitter.com/IdYaBOe3p8

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) February 28, 2025

“Sharabi, who lost over 30 kilograms (66 pounds) in captivity — some 40% of his body weight — and weighed just 44 kg (97 lbs) upon his release, said terrorists held the four hostages in iron chains and sometimes beat or humiliated them, and that they subsisted for months on a single plate of pasta each day.”

The extreme hunger he experienced was constant, with even the smallest food items – like a dried date or quarter piece of bread – feeling like major victories when his captors provided them.

After his release, Sharabi expressed amazement at simple freedoms, such as being able to access food from a refrigerator. During his captivity, he encountered American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who shared a powerful message that helped sustain their hope: “Hersh told us a sentence that stayed with us, and gave us strength, and didn’t allow us to lose hope — I knew him for two days and he gave me a sentence that stayed with me — he said: ‘When there’s a why, always find the how.'”

Eli Sharabi lost his wife, daughters, and brother while in captivity. His sister asked who would wear his tefillin until he returned—Kobi Levi answered.

For months, Kobi prayed for Eli’s safe return. Now that Eli is home, Kobi wrote:

“Without even knowing you, you’ve entered… pic.twitter.com/1xiHnaZX0l

— Yossi Farro (@FarroYossi) February 12, 2025

The initial phase of the hostage exchange and ceasefire agreement with Hamas has concluded, with 63 hostages remaining in Gaza, including 24 believed to be alive. Discussions continue regarding the release of these remaining captives.