Briefing ambassadors, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General at the Department of Political Affairs (DPPA), reiterated the UN’s unequivocal condemnation of the horrific attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on Israeli communities on 7 October 2023.
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, briefs the Security Council.
A survivor’s testimony: I came back from hell
The Security Council also heard from Eli Sharabi, an Israeli survivor who spent 491 days in Hamas captivity. Taken from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri on 7 October 2023, Mr. Sharabi was held underground, chained, starved and subjected to psychological and physical abuse.
“I have come back from hell,” he told ambassadors.
“For 491 days. I was kept mostly underground in Hamas terror tunnels…held captive in the darkness, isolated from the world by Hamas terrorists,” he continued.
“For 491 days. I held on to hope, I imagined the life we would rebuild, I dreamt of seeing my family again,” he said.
However, only when he returned home last month, he learned the truth that his wife and two daughters had been killed by Hamas on 7 October.
‘Telling their stories’
Mr. Sharabi emphasised that he appeared before the Security Council today to tell the story of his brother, Yossi, who was also taken hostage and killed, and others still in Gaza.
“My brother Yossi, murdered in Hamas captivity, his body still held hostage, still 50 metres underground. I swore to him that I would tell his story,” Mr. Sharabi said, “for every hostage still in Hamas’ hands, I am here to tell you the whole truth.”
He described the events of 7 October when Hamas attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, how he and his wife, Lianne, tried to protect their daughters and how he was taken away.
‘Begging was our existence’
Mr. Sharabi detailed the horrors of captivity, describing how hostages were deprived of food, medical care and basic hygiene.
“We had to beg for food, beg to use the bathroom. Begging was our existence,” he said, adding, “Hamas [terrorists] ate like kings while [we] starved.”
Mr. Sharabi was freed on 8 February, as part of the hostage release and ceasefire deal. Since his release, he has met both US President Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, narrating the plight of hostages and appealing for their release.
“Now, I am here before you at the United Nations to say – bring them all home. No more excuses, no more delays. If you stand for humanity, prove it. Bring them all home.”