The family of Evyatar David, a 24-year-old Israeli hostage held in Gaza, says Hamas is deliberately starving him as part of a propaganda campaign.
David was abducted on October 7, 2023, while attending the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. He has been in captivity ever since.
New footage released by Hamas shows David emaciated and digging what he describes as his own grave in a tunnel. In the video, he says, “I haven’t eaten for days… I barely got drinking water.”
His family issued a public statement in response:
“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.”
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the video an act of psychological warfare. Meanwhile, the Red Cross and several Western leaders have renewed calls for the release of all hostages and the urgent opening of humanitarian aid routes into Gaza.
Hamas responded by saying food and medicine will only be delivered to hostages if Israel allows permanent humanitarian corridors and halts airstrikes.
The hostage video was released as global concern mounts over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Photos of severely malnourished Palestinian children have surfaced, and aid agencies are now warning of a looming famine.
Statement from the David Family:
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.
Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition.
Hamas is… pic.twitter.com/DyXHdB3k8O— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) August 2, 2025
According to the UN, dozens—including children—died from hunger in the final week of July. Many collapsed in the streets while searching for food.
Tensions escalated further on July 30, when Israeli forces opened fire at a humanitarian aid site in Gaza. Local health officials say 73 Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured. Witnesses reported scenes of chaos, with blood mixing into spilled flour as people carried the wounded away.
The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire in self-defense, claiming they felt threatened while guarding the aid distribution. The IDF stated it does not intentionally target civilians and remains committed to working with international organizations to deliver aid.
Still, groups like the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) accuse Israel of turning aid distribution points into “killing grounds.”
Out of the 251 Israelis taken by Hamas on October 7, 49 are still believed to be in Gaza. At least 27 are presumed dead.
As the hostage crisis and humanitarian disaster worsen, pressure is building for an immediate ceasefire, the release of captives, and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid.
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