Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has praised the ‘phenomenal courage’ of freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi whom he met in a special Downing Street reception on Friday.

Mr Sharabi spent 16 months in captivity after his wife and two daughters were killed during Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 2023. 

He was released in February as part of the fragile ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israeli authorities.

His gaunt appearance when he was released sparked concern that he had been mistreated or even tortured by Hamas.

During his terrifying ordeal, Mr Sharabi survived on just 250 to 300 calories a day and was shackled by his legs with heavy chains ‘that cut into the flesh with every step’ for much of his time in captivity.

It was previously reported that Hamas hung Mr Sharabi and his fellow hostages by their feet, throttled them with rope, gagged their mouths and branded them with burning objects.

The captives were deliberately starved, held in a room inside a tunnel so tiny they could not move nor stand and were left struggling for air.

After days without food or water they were handed rotten pita bread which they were made to share with others. ‘We were treated like animals,’ one said on being released.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met with freed Israeli prisoner Eli Sharabi at Downing Street on Friday morning

Eli Sharabi spent 16 months in Hamas captivity before being released under the ceasefire agreement last month

The terrorists also subjected the men to barbaric interrogation sessions over 491 days in captivity.

Hamas strangled them, tied them up and gagged their mouths with cloth so they nearly suffocated.

It was only when they were due for release that the captives were permitted food so that they could stand on their feet during the handover ceremony.

Mr Sharabi was taken hostage from his home at the Be’eri Kibbutz on October 7 2023.

Tragically, he only learnt after his release that his British born wife Lianne, 48, and their daughters Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, had died during the attacks.

Hamas taunted him during their ‘handover ceremony’ where they made him say he was looking forward to seeing his wife and children once he got back home.

The ceasefire has now entered its challenging second phase, after the first which saw 25 hostages and the bodies of eight more exchanged for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Following the meeting, the Prime Minister stated that the UK will ‘redouble’ its helping of Israel in order to secure the safe release of the remaining 59 hostages.

Sir Keir promised to ‘redouble’ the UK’s efforts in aiding the release of the remaining 59 hostages

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At present, Israel supports a new US-led plan for the second phase of the ceasefire which would see Hamas release half of the remaining hostages immediately and the other half upon the agreement of a permanent ceasefire.

However, Hamas has rejected this proposal, instead stating its intention to follow the original agreement signed in January.

In an attempt to pressure Hamas into signing the new deal, Israel has cut off the delivery of humanitarian supplies into an already ravaged Gaza and threatened Hamas with ‘additional consequences’ should it fail to comply. 

In the aftermath of the meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Sharabi, a Number 10 spokesperson said that the Prime Minister had expressed his ‘heartfelt condolences’ to Mr Sharabi on the loss of his wife, Lianne, and daughters Noiya and Yahel. 

‘Hearing first-hand about his 16-month ordeal, the Prime Minister said he could not begin to imagine what Eli had been through. It was a brutal reminder of what the remaining hostages were enduring.

‘The UK would redouble its intensive work, at all levels, to secure the release of the remaining 59 hostages’, the spokesperson added.

In a statement released later, Mr Sharabi and his family said he had thanked the Prime Minister and asked him to do ‘everything he possibly could’ to ensure the remaining hostages were freed.

‘Eli thanked the Prime Minister for the UK taking responsibility for him as a hostage with close British connections, and for working towards his release for over a year,’ the statement said.

‘Eli asked the Prime Minister to confirm that he would do everything he possibly could to ensure that the 59 remaining hostages were released, including the body of Eli’s brother, Yossi, who was killed in captivity.

‘The Prime Minister said that he had read the transcript of a recent interview given by Eli to Israeli TV, which had moved him deeply, and was very powerful. He said that ‘inhuman is a word that is used too often, but your experience warranted that word’.’