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U.S. President Donald Trump has invited freed hostage Eli Sharabi to the White House, his brother Sharon Sharabi said Sunday.
The invitation came after Trump watched an interview on Israel's Channel 12 Ovda program, in which Sharabi spoke about his captivity and his hope for the release of the remaining hostages.
“We are flying on Monday for a meeting with the president on Tuesday,” Sharon Sharabi said. “It is the vital, present need,” he added, as cease-fire talks remain stalled and 59 hostages are still held in Gaza.
Sharabi was held by Hamas for 491 days. After his release, he learned that his wife and two daughters were murdered in the Oct. 7 massacre and that his brother Yossi died in captivity.
Sharabi was released last month along with Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami. Their condition, having lost so much weight, alarmed Israelis and prompted an angry reaction from the president and other top administration officials. "They looked like Holocaust survivors," Trump said.
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In the interview, Sharabi recalled how he and his wife chose not to resist their captors to protect their daughters. While in captivity, he was led to believe his family had survived. Only upon his release did he learn the tragic truth.
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Trump talks about the need to release all hostages
(Video: Fox News)
Throughout his time as a hostage, Sharabi was kept in chains, endured severe hunger—receiving only 250 to 300 calories per day—and suffered physical abuse. He was held alongside three other captives, including Alon Ohel, who remains in Hamas custody.
Sharabi said Ohel, much younger than him, was carrying injuries, including shrapnel, since the October 7 massacre. Their forced separation when Hamas released Sharabi was especially painful, but he promised Ohel he would fight for his freedom.
Sharabi only learned shortly before his release that his brother had not survived captivity.