Hamas terrorists were eating like kings from stolen aid as Israeli hostages were kept chained up and starving underground, one of the freed captives told the United Nations Thursday.
Speaking before the UN Security Council in New York, former hostage Eli Sharabi told world leaders that Hamas has ransacked the aid meant for hostages and Gaza’s civilian population, enjoying the spoils while everyone around them suffers.
“Hamas eats like kings, while hostages starve,” said Sharabi, whose emaciated body shocked the world when he was released back in February.
Sharabi said his time in Gaza was spent enduring Hamas’ cruelty while 164 feet underground, with his body wrapped in “chains so tight, they ripped my skin.”
As he suffered brutal beating from the terrorist, Sharabi said Hamas would only give him “a piece of pita” bread to eat, along with “a sip of tea.”
As he and other captives would be fed scraps, Sharabi recalled how Hamas would feast on the aid boxes that it stole from Palestinian refugees to feed their fighters.
“I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the UN and UNWRA emblems on them into the tunnels, dozens and dozens of boxes, paid for by your government,” Sharabi said.
“They would eat many meals a day from the UN aid in front of us, and we never received any of it,” he added.
Sharabi told the UN council that if they wanted to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza properly, then they have to stop Hamas’ network and ensure the aid is actually getting to the hostages and civilians.
The apparent lack of oversight, Sharabi said, left him and other hostages to despair that the world had abandoned them, something Hamas repeatedly told him during his 491 days in captivity.
As he endured the relentless mockery from the terrorists, Sharabi said his will was nearly broken when Hamas terrorists laughed just before his release as he broke the news that his brother, Yossi, had been killed in captivity.
“It was like they brought a massive hammer down on me,” Sharabi told the UN.
The blow was only made worse when Sharabi returned to Israel to find that his wife and two daughters had been killed by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.
Sharabi called on the UN to help end the pain by pushing for the release of the remaining 59 hostages in Gaza, 24 of which are still believed to be alive.
“I am not a diplomat. I am a survivor,” he said. “If you stand for humanity, prove it. Bring them all home.”
The release of the hostages in Gaza has been put on hold after the cease-fire ended earlier this week, with Israel launching a series of deadly airstrikes on Monday after it accused Hamas of rejecting terms to extend the truce.
Rather than an extension, Hamas called on the cease-fire to move to the next phase where all the living hostages would be freed at once in exchange for the Israel Defense Forces’ withdrawal from Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing mass protests over his decision to resume the war, maintains that military force is the best way to free the hostages, saying, “negotiations will be conducted only under fire.”
