The family of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza have said Hamas is starving him after the release of a video in which he appeared emaciated and weak.
The footage, released on Saturday, shows Evyatar David speaking in what appeared to be a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. In scenes that have caused outrage and dismay in Israel, he is shown digging what he says could be his own grave. In comments made under duress, he urges the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to agree to a ceasefire.
“Today is 27 July, at 12pm, I don’t know what I’m going to eat. I haven’t eaten for a few days in a row,” David says in a weak, slurred voice. He walks away from the camera, revealing his emaciated body.
“Time is running out. You are the only ones who can end this,” he says, in what appear to be comments directed at Israel’s leadership.
Hamas captured David at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, the day Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and captured approximately 250 hostages. He is one of 49 hostages still held by Hamas, 22 of whom are thought to still be alive.
The family of David released a statement responding to the video, accusing Hamas of starving David for propaganda.
“We are forced to witness our dear son and brother Evyatar being deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza – a living skeleton buried alive. Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition,” the family said.
They called for humanitarian aid that enters Gaza to be allowed to reach David and urged the US and Israeli governments to do everything possible to secure his release.
Gaza is in the throes of famine, with mass starvation on the rise. Israeli officials have said Hamas is deliberately starving its captives.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that he had spoken with the regional head of the International Red Cross, Julien Lerisson, and asked the organisation to help provide food and medical aid to hostages in Gaza.
Hamas responded that it was ready to provide Red Cross aid to the hostages if Israel halted “all forms of air traffic” during the delivery of packages and opened permanent humanitarian corridors.
The video was released as the US envoy Steve Witkoff visited Israel to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza. He met the families of some hostages on Saturday, and told them Washington was pushing for a comprehensive end to the war that would include the release of all hostages.
“We now need to bring all of them home. We are very close to ending the war,” he said, according to a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that he had spoken to the families of David and another hostage, Rom Braslavski, who was pictured in a video released on Friday.
Thousands of people rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to call for the release of the hostages. Relatives of some of the hostages erected a protest camp surrounded by razor wire and displayed pictures of those still held captive.
They sat in the middle of the encampment, which they said symbolised the imprisonment of their loved ones. They called for an end to the war in Gaza, with some accusing Netanyahu of prolonging the war to save his governing coalition.
“This is the time for a comprehensive deal and an end to the war. No more delays. No more leaving them behind. Stop this nightmare and bring them out of the tunnels and home,” the families said in their statement.
Ceasefire negotiations collapsed two weeks ago, when the US and Israel accused Hamas of not negotiating in good faith. Hamas has denied the accusation and countered that Israel was stalling.
Pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire is mounting, as the international community reacts in horror at the growing famine in Gaza, which has killed 175 people, including 93 children. The aid community blames Israel’s blockade on aid into Gaza for their starvation, a claim Israel has denied.
In response to the stalling ceasefire efforts, Netanyahu had suggested alternatives to his cabinet, including a renewed offensive on Gaza in a redoubled effort to defeat Hamas.
Witkoff denied there was any plan for a further offensive, telling the families of hostages on Saturday that Hamas said that it was ready to disarm. In a statement, Hamas later vowed not to demilitarise “as long as the occupation exists”.
About 60,500 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s military campaign there over the last 21 months, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
