If anyone still dares to view the hostages as anything but a nonpartisan, non-negotiable issue, they must watch freed hostage Eli Sharabi’s interview with the investigative team of Channel 12’s Uvda news magazine program.
Eli’s trauma is incomprehensible, but this man, with torture outlining his face, refused to let it break him. These are the people Hamas kidnapped: strong, but not just in strength – a quiet strength, desperate for one thing: life.
Eli made it out alive. Others didn’t, and others are still held captive in unimaginable conditions. Every Israeli, Jew, supporter of Israel, and diplomatic player involved must understand: It is their duty to get them out as quickly as possible.
As of Saturday night, Israeli officials reported that Hamas is refusing to extend phase one of the deal, as talks are at an impasse.
Eli was held for 491 days, chained at his feet the entire time. He lost 30 kilograms, surviving on pita bread and pasta. For the first 52 days, he was kept in an apartment while buildings around him were destroyed by the IAF. The chains cut into his skin. Only when he returned did he learn of the murders of his wife, children, and brother Yossi in captivity.
He was released one month ago. Asked why he gave the interview, he said, “We can’t let them stay there. I remember every minute in that tunnel.”
‘How can we leave him behind?’
After 50 days in an apartment, Eli was moved underground, where he met Alon Ohel, Or Levy, and Eliya Cohen. “Alon pierced my heart; I adopted him from the first day. We supported each other. I know everything about him – his family, important dates, the hobbies of his siblings and parents. How can we leave him behind?”
Eli, 53, took it upon himself to help 24-year-old Alon survive. When captors told him he’d be released, “the terrorists tore him from me. He refused to let go. I promised I wouldn’t leave him there, that I would fight for him. I am here for him and the rest of the hostages.”
When captors told Alon he’d be released on February 8, “he turned white as a sheet, understanding he would be there alone.” Eli was released with Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy.
From the moment he was taken, Eli was in survival mode. Hunger took over everything. “Do you know what it’s like to open a refrigerator? To take out a fruit or an egg or a piece of bread? That’s what you dream about there… your stomach is glued to your back.”
The four debated what to ask for next – a cup of tea, a quarter of pita – and who should ask, depending on the captor. “The humiliation was constant,” he said.
Eli, Or, Alon, and Eliya were moved to a different tunnel, 50 meters underground, with terrible sanitary conditions. They showered once a month with water from a bottle or pail.
Their treatment depended on Israeli leaders’ statements. “They listen all the time. [After] any irresponsible statement, we were the first to feel the consequences.” They were told that Israeli authorities weren’t giving Palestinian prisoners food, so the hostages wouldn’t eat. The same applied to beatings and showers.
In January, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir instructed the Israel Prison Service to reduce meat meals for prisoners, responding to testimonies of hostage starvation. Hamas called on international human rights groups to hold Israel accountable.
The four invented code words for their captors, including one they nicknamed “Trash.” Eli recalled a day when the IAF bombed his house. He ran to the four; Eli was closest to the door. The captor punched and kicked him in the ribs. Eli couldn’t breathe properly for a month.
For over a year, the dialogue about the hostages has taken a political spin. Eli’s testimony reminds us it is anything but. “Hostages aren’t a political issue. It’s not Left or Right, it’s straight. When they killed my family, [or] the Bibases; when they kidnapped Hersh, did they ask what they believed?”
Returning the hostages is not a separate goal. We must stop speaking in those terms. The threat Hamas poses is much larger, and the hostages cannot continue to pay the price for that.
“I’m not angry; I was lucky, and I returned to a traumatized country. This is about responsibility and the values this country wants to have,” Eli concluded.
Jesus Christ is King
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