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Eli Sharabi Recounts 491 Days in Hamas Captivity on German TV

His testimony highlights a deliberate choice to pursue optimism after extreme abuse.

Overview

  • Appearing on ZDF’s Markus Lanz alongside the release of his book “491 Tage,” the former hostage gave a detailed first-person account of his imprisonment.
  • He was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023 and freed on February 8, 2025 in a ceasefire exchange that also released Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy.
  • Sharabi said he spent 485 days in iron shackles, was moved to Hamas tunnels after 52 days in a house, and lived underground in constant darkness.
  • He described severe deprivation including a single daily meal, more than 30 kilograms of weight loss, rare washing with half a bucket of cold water, and infestations of worms, cockroaches, and rats.
  • He recounted cutting his eyebrow with a razor and feigning a collapse to secure extra pita for fellow captives, and said he learned only after release that his wife Lianne and daughters Noiya and Yahel had been killed.