Eli Sharabi, who has been detained for more than 490 days in Gaza, talked about his suffering in prison in a televised interview, which was released on social media on Friday by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
“For a year and four months, my legs were tied up with very heavy locks, very heavy,” Sarahbi said in an interview aired on Channel 12 in Israel on Thursday night.
He talked about the intense hunger, poverty and the only day to eat was “you can finish the pita for three bites this quarter”.
“You ate for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and the crumbs really feel like you’re eating,” he said in an interview.
Sharabi, 53, is in his home in Kibbutz Beeri with his British-born wife Lianne and two teenage daughters when Hamas was in the attack on the Gaza war on October 7, 2023.
He was released on February 8 with two other Israelis as part of the exchange of Palestinian prisoners in the truce that came into effect on January 19.
The fragile, disoriented appearance of these three people has caused frustration and shock in Israel and beyond.
It was not until his release that Sarabee learned that his wife and two teenage daughters were killed on October 7, 2023.
His brother Yossi Sharabi, who took hostages separately, is still in Gaza and is believed to be dead.
Eli Sharabi told Channel 12: “I’m not angry, contrary to what I might think of.”
“I’m lucky, I’ve had Lianne for 30 years, and we have two amazing daughters for years and I’m lucky they didn’t kill me,” he said.
Sarabee recalled that one day his guards “learned that Israeli planes destroyed his family’s house.”
“I’m the first person to get it. Kick, hit the ribs,” he said.
“He was hungry. Torture – physically and mentally,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a post on Friday.
“In 491 days, he was detained under unimaginable conditions and was completely out of the outside world,” it said.
Sarabee said he conducted nearly an hour of interviews with the hostages still in Gaza to bring them back as soon as possible.
DMS-MJ-ACC/ser
