Sharabi Blasts Netanyahu Weight Joke on 1,000th Day

Former hostage Eli Sharabi, who survived 491 days in Hamas captivity after being abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri, used July 2 interviews to rebuke Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's answer that October 7 made him lose a little weight. Sharabi replied that he lost more weight in captivity, and said joking about October 7 while communities were massacred, loved ones murdered and soldiers fell was disgraceful. He also criticized Bezalel Smotrich's claim that the hostages returned because of him. Hamas remains responsible for the massacre and captivity; Israeli leaders should answer survivors with seriousness, humility and a state inquiry that learns the hard lessons.