March 2 (UPI) — An Israeli hostage who endured more than a year of Hamas captivity has detailed his ordeal as human rights group called the torture suffered by Palestinians held in Israel prisons “shocking.”
Eli Sharabi, who was released in the fifth exchange of captives as part of the ongoing ceasefire last month, recounted what he went through to Israel’s Channel 12 show “Uvda” on Thursday, according to the English-language Haaretz newspaper.
At the time of his release, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said the detainees had endured torture and enforced starvation with seven taken directly to a hospital for treatment. Sharabi has now revealed that the treatment of Israeli hostages was dependent on how Palestinians held in Israel were treated as reported in Israeli media.
“They came and told us – ‘[Palestinian] prisoners are not receiving food, so you won’t eat. Our prisoners are being beaten, so we’ll beat you.’ That was the constant threat,” he said.
Sharabi called the conditions in Hamas’ tunnels dire as he detailed the hunger the hostages experienced. With Israel stymying aid to Gaza, Israeli hostages and Palestinians alike have faced famine-like conditions. He described having even a single dry date feeling like “the best meal in the world” with hostages getting as little as 250 calories per day.
Eli Sharabi (black jacket) is reunited with his brother Sharon and his sisters Osnat and Hila at Sheba Medical Center after he was released by Hamas on Saturday, February 8, 2025, along with two other male hostages as part of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the terrorist group. The men spent 491 days in captivity after being abducted on October 7, 2023. Photo by UPI
“You dream every day of opening a fridge and taking out fruit, vegetables, or a slice of bread. You don’t care about the beatings you receive,” Sharabi said. “They break my ribs, and I don’t care — just give me another pita.”
Sharabi also said that the Israeli Defense Forces have little hope of rescuing hostages alive from Hamas’ tunnels, stating, “You would get a bullet to the head before Israeli troops stepped into the tunnel.”
Meanwhile, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor — a human rights group that has sought to combat falsehoods spread by Israel- has also been interviewing Palestinian captives and describing their conditions. It released an update after the seventh exchange of prisoners last week calling their conditions “shocking.”
“Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, who arrived in the Gaza Strip recently in exceptionally poor health, illustrates its ongoing use of torture to terrorize and persecute prisoners and detainees and break their will until the very end of their detention,” the group said.
“The effects of torture were clearly evident, with the emaciated bodies of the released individuals reflecting the severity of systematic crimes and inhumane treatment that exceed all legal and moral bounds.”
The Euro-Med team documented injuries including limb amputations and “severe swelling brought on by torture.” Some were even reportedly incapable of walking without assistance.
Israel has claimed that the Palestinian detainees are guilty of crimes, including murder, though human rights groups have long challenged the veracity of such claims. Many are often held in administrative detention without trial, and when trials occur, they happen within the context of Israel’s court system making any verdict liable to scrutiny.
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