Eli Sharabi asks UN Human Rights Council to 'name these crimes,' recognize hostage abuse as torture

Former hostage Eli Sharabi addressed the UN Human Rights Council, urging it to recognize the treatment of Gaza hostages as torture and demand criminal investigations. He described 491 days of captivity, including starvation and physical abuse. A report by the Jerusalem Institute of Justice documented systematic abuse of hostages, calling for international legal action.

Former hostage Eli Sharabi addressed the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, calling on the body to recognize the treatment of hostages held in Gaza as torture and to demand criminal investigations. In a prerecorded statement played during the council's 63rd session in Geneva, Sharabi described 491 days of captivity underground, where he was chained, starved, beaten, and humiliated. He was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri during the October 7, 2023 attack; his wife and daughters were murdered, and his brother was killed in captivity. Sharabi said he learned of his family's death only upon his release in February 2025, weighing 44 kilograms after deliberate starvation. The address presented findings from a Jerusalem Institute of Justice report titled "Kidnapped: Hostage-Taking as a Form of Torture," which compiled 6,971 data points on 251 hostages. The report found at least 78 released hostages showed signs of starvation or severe muscle wasting, and 68% of those held over 200 days were forced into propaganda videos. The report calls for hostage-taking to be investigated as torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, urging universal jurisdiction. Sharabi framed his appeal as a demand for accountability beyond politics, stating, "Name these crimes. End impunity."