Former Hostage Tells UN About His 'Hell' in Gaza Tunnels, Houthi Missile Triggers Jerusalem Sirens

JERUSALEM, Israel – One Israeli hostage has made a journey from a Hamas terror tunnel deep underneath Gaza to a speaker's platform at the United Nations Security Council. Eli Sharabi testified to the world Thursday about what it was like as a Hamas hostage for nearly 500 days.

The former captive, declared, "My name is Eli Sharabi. I’m 53 years old. I’ve come back from hell. I’ve returned to tell my story.”

He continued,  "I cannot begin to describe the agony. It was hell. I was fed a piece of pita a day. Maybe a sip of tea. Hunger consumed everything. They beat me. They broke my ribs. I didn't care. I just wanted a piece of bread.”

In captivity, Sharabi hoped to rebuild his life with his wife and two daughters but discovered Hamas murdered them on October 7th. He also testified that Hamas stole the humanitarian aid the world sent to Gaza.

"I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the UN and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnels, dozens and dozens of boxes, paid for by your government."

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon chastised the U.N. with blistering declarations.

“For 530 days, you erased the hostages. You have spoken about Gaza without mentioning the crimes of Hamas. You have debated humanitarian assistance without acknowledging the humanitarian crimes Hamas is deliberately inflicting on the hostages. You have the audacity to talk about a ceasefire without demanding that those held in Hamas' terror tunnels be freed.”

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On the ground in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces expanded its military operation. The White House affirmed it is acc standing with Israel.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted, “This situation, let's not forget, is completely the fault of Hamas, when they launched that brutal attack on Israel on October 7th. And the president has made it very clear that he wants all of those hostages to come home. And he fully supports Israel and the IDF and the actions that they've taken in recent days."

The Houthis fired another ballistic missile toward Israel on Thursday, triggering sirens in Jerusalem, even as the U.S. continued its air campaign to stop the Houthis from endangering the Jewish state and other countries in the region. The Trump administration reportedly told Israel to refrain from airstrikes and leave the Houthi problem to Washington.

Early Friday, Israel's cabinet unanimously decided to fire Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, the equivalent of the F.B.I. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Bar of failing to warn the government about the October 7th Hamas attack in time.

As Israel keeps a close watch on Iran, Netanyahu took the occasion of the Persian New Year of Nowruz to speak directly to the Iranian people. 

May this be a year of ‘Servat’ – Prosperity," the prime minister said. "Prosperity when you, the people of Iran can finally enjoy Iran’s rich natural resources, those resources that have been so long denied to you by an oppressive regime. A year of Azadi – Freedom: Real freedom. Freedom from oppression, freedom from want, freedom to live, freedom to choose. Happy Nowruz!"