Israel Solidarity Rally – Christchurch

OPINION: Following the October 7 massacre, Eli Sharabi was held hostage for 491 days by Hamas and Gaza’s radical Islamic terrorist civilians:

“My name is Eli Sharabi. I am 53 years old. I’ve come back from hell. I used to live in Kibbutz Be’eri with my wife, Leanne, and two daughters, Noya and Yael.

On October 7, my heaven turned to hell. Sirens began. Hamas terrorists invaded, and I was ripped away from my family…”

“The terrorists broke down our door. The dog barked and the terrorists opened fire. My wife and I threw ourselves over our daughters, screaming for them to stop. They dragged me away as I call out to my girls, “I will be back.”

When we arrived in Gaza, a mob of civilians tried to lynch me…but the terrorists rushed away with me into a mosque. I was their trophy.

491 days. That is how long I starved. How long I was chained. How long I begged for humanity. And in all that time, no-one came. And no-one in Gaza helped me. No-one. The civilians in Gaza saw us suffering. They cheered our kidnappers. They were definitely involved.”

For the first 52 days, Eli was held in a civilian apartment and bound so as he was unable to move. On November 27, 2023, he was taken into a tunnel 50 metres below ground. His chains were bound tight and never taken off until the day he was released.

Eli stated, “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 ribs. I didn’t care. I just wanted a piece of bread.”

Eli spoke of Alon Ohel, “By the time I met Alon Ohel, who is now 24 years old, we had already endured terrible captivity. We relied on each other for survival. Alon is a very talented pianist, and I remember how he would pretend to play the piano on his body to keep himself sane.”

After 491 days, Eli was released, “I stood at the sick Hamas ceremony, surrounded by terrorists and a crowd of so-called uninvolved civilians, hoping my wife and daughters were waiting for me.

Then I arrived home. They told me my mother and sister were waiting for me. I said, ‘Get my wife and daughters.’ And that was when I knew. They were gone. They had been murdered.“

Today marks 546 days that 59 innocent souls have been enslaved in the underground hell holes of Gaza. They suffer starvation and torture at the hands of radical Islamic rapists and murderers – the butchers of October 7.

Whilst we ask, ‘Where is the world?’ firstly, we must make account of ourselves.

We must stand up and speak out for the hostages; the victims of October 7; the fallen and fighting heroes of the IDF and all their families.

We must make a public declaration of our solidarity with the people of the Promised, Sovereign and Eternal Nation of Israel.

Sunday, we shall again unite to bring awareness of the October 7 massacre and the hostages.