Israeli hostage Sharabi recalls suffering in Hamas captivity, shares difficult farewell to those still held captive

The Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, who was released last month after nearly 500 days in Hamas captivity, shared his traumatic experience during an interview with Israeli TV on Thursday.

Sharabi recalled that he was frequently beaten, chained and starved by his Hamas captors. He said the terrorists treated him and the Israeli other hostages even worse when they were angry with the Israeli government.

“You could tell what was happening in the news just by [the captors’] behavior,” Sharabi said. “Every irresponsible statement – we’re the first ones to suffer [the consequences],” he continued. “They come to us and tell us, ‘They aren’t giving our prisoners food – you won’t eat. They’re beating our prisoners – we’ll beat you. They aren’t letting them shower – you won’t get to shower.'”

Sharabi described the difficult hunger that he and his fellow Israeli hostages experienced while held in Gaza, saying that he and the other hostages were often forced to subsist on a plate of pasta or a pita per day.

“If it happens for a day or two, it’s not terrible. But for six months, that’s what we ate, every day,” Sharabi said.

“People should really think when they open a fridge at home, it’s everything. It’s everything to open a fridge,” Sharabi said. “That’s what you dream of every day. You don’t care about the beatings you get, and they beat you, they’re breaking my ribs and I don’t care, give me another half-pita.”

Sharabi recalled the conduct of one cruel Hamas guard whom the hostages nicknamed “the garbage” after the terrorist's home in Gaza was destroyed in an Israeli aerial strike.

“As it happened, I slept closest to the threshold, so I was the first one to get it. Kicks, punches, to the ribs,” he said.

Sharabi lost about 40% of his body weight during his captivity. Observers in Israel and abroad were shocked by Sharabi’s poor condition when he was released in early February.

U.S. President Donald Trump noted that Sharabi and other released Israeli hostages looked like a Holocaust survivor.

“I watched the hostages come back today and they looked like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated. It looked like many years ago, the Holocaust survivors, and I don’t know how much longer we can take that,” Trump stated, warning the terrorist organization Hamas that “at some point, we’re gonna lose our patience.” 

The 53-year-old Sharabi recalled that he 'adopted' a 24-year-old male hostage, Alon Ohel, during his captivity.

“I adopted him from the first minute,” Sharabi said. “24/7 together. I know everything about him and his family.”

He said it was difficult to be separated from Ohel, who is still being held hostage. He described those last minutes together as “moments of hysteria.” Ohel reportedly grabbed Sharabi and refused to let go until a Hamas guard separated them.

“It was a very difficult moment,” Sharabi said. “He said he was happy for me. I promised him I wouldn’t leave him there. I will fight for him,” he added. Two weeks later, fellow hostage Eliya Cohen was released, leaving Ohel alone in captivity.

“I can’t imagine that moment,” Sharabi said, referring to Ohel being separated from Cohen. “I can’t imagine it.”

While Sharabi survived the long captivity in Gaza, his wife and children were murdered by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack. Sharabi said he is “not angry” when addressing the loss of his murdered wife and children.