Hostage who Trump noted looked like a “Holocaust survivor” to meet with the president in Washington on Tuesday.
By World Israel News Staff
Several recently freed hostages, including Eli Sharabi, will meet with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Sharabi’s brother Sharon told Hebrew-language Channel 12 News.
Eli Sharabi was released in early February, alongside Or Levy and Ohad Ben-Ami, all of whom appeared frail and gaunt.
Trump said that Sharabi and his fellow captives released that day “looked like Holocaust survivors” due to the starvation they had endured.
Sharabi, 53, was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023. He lost more than 40 percent of his body weight during his time in captivity.
His British-born wife, Lianne, 48, and their two daughters, Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, who also held UK citizenship, were murdered. According to media reports, the bodies of the mother and daughters were discovered “in an embrace.”
In a post-release interview with Israeli news program Uvda, Sharabi described long-term starvation, including days subsisting on a single plate of pasta.
He described being beaten and psychologically and physically tortured by his captors. Held mostly in tunnels for 15 months, Sharabi had no idea that his family was slaughtered until he was freed.
“Survivors of Hamas captivity, including my brother Eli, will meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday and explain to him in the most direct way possible the urgency of returning all the hostages,” Sharon Sharabi told Channel 12 News.
He added that “Trump had watched excerpts from Eli’s Uvda interview with English subtitles.”
A third brother, Yossi Sharabi, was also abducted on October 7th from Kibbutz Be’eri. The IDF declared him to be dead in captivity several weeks after his kidnapping.
Sharon Sharabi said that the trip was made possible by the “generosity” of Miriam Adelson.
Israel-born Adelson is the widow of billionaire philanthropist Sheldon Adelson. A close personal friend of Trump, Adelson has intensified her Israel advocacy efforts since the October 7th terror onslaught.