Evyatar David shown emaciated in Hamas video, fueling protests amid Gaza ceasefire deadlock and worsening humanitarian crisis. Photos/X.
Evyatar David: Hamas on Saturday released a video showing 24-year-old Israeli hostage Evyatar David in a visibly weakened and skeletal state.
The video has sparked protests at Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square” as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas hit a block amid worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The 40-second undated video, circulated by Hamas and other Palestinian groups, shows Evyatar David and fellow hostage Rom in emaciated condition, confined within a narrow concrete tunnel. This footage was released for the second consecutive night and juxtaposed with images of starving Palestinian children.
Also Read: ‘Tactical Pause’ or Death Trap? 62 Palestinians Killed by Israel Amid Gaza Hunger Crisis
According to the New York Post, David was reportedly forced by Hamas captors to dig a grave. In the video, he states, “this is the grave where I think I am going to be buried,” adding that he has not eaten in several days.
David’s family authorized the release of this distressing footage. In a statement sent to the Hostages’ Families Forum Headquarters, they said, “we are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza — a living skeleton, buried alive.”
The family further condemned Hamas’s actions as a “vile hunger campaign” and described the deliberate starvation of their son as “one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen,” according to AFP.
Evyatar David, a 24-year-old Israeli citizen, was abducted on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas attack that ignited the ongoing Gaza war. He and his friend Gal Gilboa-Dalal were attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel when militants seized them.
The two were among 44 festival attendees kidnapped that day. Palestinian militants killed 370 people during the attack. Of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas, Israeli authorities confirm that 49 remain captive in Gaza, with 27 believed to have died.
In February, Hamas released a video showing David and Gilboa-Dalal confined inside a vehicle, forced to watch a hostage release ceremony nearby, an act that drew international condemnation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the situation publicly, stating he had spoken with the families of Rom Braslavsky and Evyatar David.
“I expressed to them my deep shock at the harsh footage published by the Hamas terror organisation. I told them in the clearest way – we are continuing the effort to bring back all the hostages, relentlessly, with determination, and without tire,” Netanyahu wrote on X.
He described Hamas’s cruelty as boundless, “while the State of Israel allows the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, Hamas terrorists deliberately starve our hostages, documenting them in a cynical, humiliating, and malicious manner.”
Also Read: Global Outrage Mounts After Red Cross Worker Killed By Israeli Forces in Gaza Strike
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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