Former Hamas captive Eli Sharabi meets with UK premier

Former Hamas hostage Eli Sharabi met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London on Friday.

Sharabi told Starmer about the horrific conditions in which he was held captive by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip for 491 days, during which he was starved and beaten.

“I never lost hope of returning home,” he said.

The premier expressed his condolences over the murder during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Sharabi’s wife, Lianne, and their daughters Yahel and Noiya, who were all British nationals, as well as the killing of his brother Yossi in captivity.

Eli thanked Starmer for working in coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump to secure the release of the 59 hostages, of whom 24 are believed to be alive, still being held in Gaza.

The British prime minister said he had read the transcript of Eli’s recent interview on Channel 12’s “Uvda” program, commenting, “It moved me and was very powerful.”

He added that “‘inhumane’ is a word that is used too often, but your experience justifies that word.”

Starmer affirmed that the British government “will do everything in its power to release the hostages. We will redouble our efforts …, this is our No. 1 priority.”

Sharabi, 53, who lost more than 66 pounds and weighed just 97 upon his release on Feb. 8, said in the interview last week that he was kept in iron chains the entire time and was intermittently beaten or otherwise humiliated as he and the three other hostages he was with subsisted for months on end on a single plate of pasta a day.

“Some [captives] were chained part of the time. I was chained for 16 months. Heavy locks tore into my flesh,” Sharabi said.

“People should really think when they open a fridge at home, it’s everything. It’s everything to open a fridge,” he said. “That’s what you dream of every day. You don’t care about the beatings you get. They beat you, they’re breaking my ribs, and I don’t care; give me another half-pita.”

Sharabi said that he “thought I was returning to my family. I had no idea [they were murdered].”

“I’m not angry,” he added. “I was lucky I had Lianne for 30 years. I was lucky I had those amazing daughters for years.”

Sharabi was one of several former hostages who met with Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

“Today, President Trump took time to meet with eight of the released hostages from Gaza,” the White House stated. “The president listened intently to their heartbreaking stories. The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.”

Trump threatened Hamas in a social media post after the Oval Office meeting, although Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, confirmed hours earlier that the administration was holding direct talks with Hamas about the release of American citizens still being held in Gaza.

“‘Shalom Hamas’ means hello and goodbye—you can choose,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is over for you. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted.

“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job. Not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” the president added. “Release the hostages now, or there will be hell to pay later.”