\n
Briefing ambassadors, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General at the Department of Political Affairs (DPPA), reiterated the UN\u2019s unequivocal condemnation of the horrific attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on Israeli communities on 7 October 2023.<\/p>\n
More than 1,200 Israelis were brutally killed and over 250 taken hostage. At least 59 people \u2013 alive and deceased \u2013 remain in the custody of Hamas and other armed groups inside the enclave.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing can justify the intentional killing, torture, sexual violence, and destruction \u2013 entire families murdered, burned in their homes, taken hostage<\/strong>,\u201d Mr. Khiari said.<\/p>\n\u201cThe events of that horrific day will not be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n
Escalating conflict<\/h2>\n
Mr. Khiari also reported on the worsening situation in Gaza following the collapse of the two-month ceasefire and hostages release deal \u2013 and \u00a0 \u00a0resumption of full-blown conflict.<\/p>\n
Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, he said, adding also that six UN staff members have been killed in the past three days.<\/p>\n
Calling for an urgent return to the ceasefire, Mr. Khiari warned that \u201cwith every passing day, we move further away from the objective of returning the remaining hostages safely to their homes<\/strong>.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\nHe recalled UN relief chief Tom Fletcher\u2019s briefing to the Council earlier this week, \u201ca renewed ceasefire is the best way of protecting civilians \u2013 in Gaza, in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Israel \u2013 releasing hostages and detainees and allowing aid and commercial supplies in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, briefs the Security Council.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A survivor\u2019s testimony: I came back from hell<\/h2>\n
The Security Council also heard from Eli Sharabi, an Israeli survivor who spent 491 days in Hamas captivity. Taken from his home in Kibbutz Be\u2019eri on 7 October 2023, Mr. Sharabi was held underground, chained, starved and subjected to psychological and physical abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have come back from hell,\u201d he told ambassadors.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 491 days. I was kept mostly underground in Hamas terror tunnels\u2026held captive in the darkness, isolated from the world by Hamas terrorists<\/strong>,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\u201cFor 491 days. I held on to hope, I imagined the life we would rebuild, I dreamt of seeing my family again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
However, only when he returned home last month, he learned the truth that his wife and two daughters had been killed by Hamas on 7 October.<\/p>\n
\u2018Telling their stories\u2019<\/h2>\n
Mr. Sharabi emphasised that he appeared before the Security Council today to tell the story of his brother, Yossi, who was also taken hostage and killed, and others still in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother Yossi, murdered in Hamas captivity, his body still held hostage, still 50 metres underground. I swore to him that I would tell his story,\u201d Mr. Sharabi said, \u201cfor every hostage still in Hamas\u2019 hands, I am here to tell you the whole truth<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\nHe described the events of 7 October when Hamas attacked Kibbutz Be\u2019eri, how he and his wife, Lianne, tried to protect their daughters and how he was taken away.<\/p>\n
\u2018Begging was our existence\u2019<\/h2>\n
Mr. Sharabi detailed the horrors of captivity, describing how hostages were deprived of food, medical care and basic hygiene.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to beg for food, beg to use the bathroom. Begging was our existence,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cHamas [terrorists] ate like kings while [we] starved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Sharabi was freed on 8 February, as part of the hostage release and ceasefire deal. Since his release, he has met both US President Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, narrating the plight of hostages and appealing for their release.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, I am here before you at the United Nations to say \u2013 bring them all home. No more excuses, no more delays. If you stand for humanity, prove it.<\/strong> Bring them all home.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Briefing ambassadors, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General at the Department of Political Affairs (DPPA), reiterated the UN\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[539,504,4123,190,472,245,366,782],"class_list":["post-54717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east","tag-bring","tag-council","tag-freed","tag-gaza","tag-home","tag-hostage","tag-security","tag-tells"],"yoast_head":"\n
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