The world watched in horror on Saturday as Palestinian terror group Hamas released a disturbing video of 24-year-old Israeli hostage Evyatar David, kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 massacre at the Nova music festival in southern Israel. In the video, filmed inside one of Gaza’s concrete tunnels, Evyatar appears severely emaciated, his ribs visible, his body frail. Holding a shovel with trembling hands, he is seen digging a pit in the dirt below.

Speaking in broken Hebrew, he painfully utters:
"What I'm doing now is digging my own grave. Every day my body becomes weaker and weaker. I'm walking directly to my grave. There is the grave where I am going to be buried in. Time is running out to be released and be able to sleep in my bed with my family."
His voice cracks as he breaks down, a heartbreaking reflection of the cruelty Hamas continues to inflict behind closed tunnels.

This chilling video is not just propaganda—it is psychological warfare, and a grim reminder of Hamas’s inhuman treatment of captives. Instead of upholding humanitarian principles, Hamas exploits hostages for terror optics while families in Israel cling to hope.

Outrage as David’s Family Condemns Hamas for ‘Starving Him for Propaganda’

The video sparked public outrage across Israel, with Evyatar David’s family releasing a powerful statement condemning the group for turning their son into a political pawn. The family, exhausted and heartbroken, 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.”

Evyatar, now in his second year of captivity, is one of the 49 hostages Israel believes are still held inside Gaza. 27 of them are feared dead, but for those like Evyatar, the suffering is prolonged and public. In the same video, he is heard whispering:
“I haven't eaten for days... I barely got drinking water.”

While Hamas attempts to use these images to manipulate world sympathy, Israel continues to act, both diplomatically and militarily. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke directly with the families of both Evyatar and another hostage, Rom Braslavski, who also appeared in a similar video, pale and weak. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with other hostage families the same day, signaling growing international support.

That evening, thousands of Israeli citizens gathered in Tel Aviv, holding vigils and raising demands for urgent international intervention. They are not just calling for the return of their loved ones—they’re standing against a group that has made hostage-taking a weapon of war.

During the horrific attack nearly two years ago, Hamas kidnapped 251 innocent people. This calculated terror operation continues today with videos like Evyatar’s—a sick display of dominance disguised as a cry for help.

Here is a rewritten version of the text in favor of Israel and critical of Hamas, with a plagiarism-free guarantee, while retaining all factual and emotional impact:

New Video Exposes Hamas’ Cruelty: Starving Israeli Hostages While Terrorists Feast

The Gaza-based terror group Hamas recently claimed that the emaciated state of Israeli hostage Evyatar David was a result of him receiving the same food and water as his captors. However, a newly released video sharply contradicts this narrative. In the footage, one of David’s captors hands him a can of food, which appears full and nutritionally sufficient. Yet David—gaunt and visibly starving—states, “This can is for two days,” as he reviews his journal of sparse meals: a handful of lentils, some beans, or often, nothing at all.

Hamas cynically attempts to shift blame, alleging that “the occupation government decided to starve them,” drawing a false moral equivalence between their brutal treatment of hostages and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israeli officials, however, believe this video, likely filmed around July 27, is part of Hamas’ propaganda strategy to pressure Israel into accepting an unfair hostage deal. Hamas has refused every reasonable condition Israel has proposed to end the conflict.

Former hostages Tal Shoham and Omer Wenkert, who were held alongside David and fellow captive Guy Gilboa Dalal in the same underground tunnel, have publicly condemned Hamas’ claims. “Just meters behind an iron door, Hamas operatives were enjoying lavish meals—meat, fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables,” Shoham revealed. “All of it stolen from aid meant for innocent Gazans.”

“These scenes are not just inhumane—they are calculated acts of psychological torture,” Shoham added. “Evyatar has lost more than 40, possibly even 50 kilograms. His life is hanging by a thread.”

Shoham also disclosed that David was already suffering from severe scurvy by February, a condition caused by extreme vitamin C deficiency—virtually eradicated in the modern world. Since then, the situation has only worsened.

Speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv for the 50 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, Omer Wenkert emotionally recalled his time in captivity: “They had food. I smelled it every single day while I was given just two spoonfuls of rice. They had everything. So why? Why won’t they feed him? This is cruelty beyond words.”

David’s sister, Yeela, also addressed the crowd: “Last night, we saw our brother being intentionally starved in a Hamas hellhole. He is being used as a human experiment in a grotesque campaign of hunger and propaganda.”

Who Is Evyatar David? The Face of Hamas's Hostage Brutality

Evyatar David is not a soldier, not a political leader—just a 24-year-old Israeli citizen, a young man who went to enjoy a music festival and ended up in the clutches of a terrorist organization. On October 7, 2023, as the Nova music festival in southern Israel was drenched in blood during a surprise attack by Hamas, David was kidnapped—one among the hundreds snatched that day from a peaceful gathering.

Since that horrific day, David has remained in Hamas captivity in Gaza, a hostage buried in darkness, both literally and emotionally. It’s been nearly two years, and his suffering is now visible to the world after Hamas released a propaganda video showing him, emaciated and frail, digging what he calls his own grave. Israel confirms that David is one of 49 hostages still held by Hamas. His condition is so dire that his family was forced to describe him publicly as a “living skeleton, buried alive” in Gaza’s underground tunnels—an image no parent, sibling, or nation should ever be forced to witness.

This is not just about one man. It’s about how Hamas dehumanizes innocent people, using them as leverage while the world watches in horror.

Gaza War: A Battle for Survival, Not Just Territory

Evyatar David’s story is intertwined with the broader tragedy of the ongoing conflict that erupted after the October 7, 2023 massacre. On that day, 1,219 Israeli civilians were brutally killed by Hamas in one of the worst attacks the country has witnessed. In response, Israel was left with no option but to launch a military campaign aimed at dismantling a terrorist infrastructure embedded in civilian areas.

Since then, more than 60,000 people have died in Gaza, according to local health officials. But behind that number lies a harsh truth: Hamas started this war, and now continues to use civilians as human shields, placing rocket launchers in hospitals, schools, and densely populated zones.

As part of its efforts to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages—including David—Israel imposed a full blockade on March 2. Aid flow was restricted, not to punish civilians, but to isolate Hamas. Still, the humanitarian impact has been grave. UN agencies report that children are now dying from hunger, starvation, and malnutrition—a crisis Hamas worsens by seizing supplies meant for Gaza’s people and turning aid trucks into war assets.

Accusations have also emerged against Israeli troops allegedly killing civilians at aid distribution points. But these reports remain contested and unverifiable, as international journalists, including the BBC, are not allowed independent access into Gaza due to Hamas’s manipulation of media and use of human shields.

The face of this war is also seen in others like Rom Braslavski, a 21-year-old Israeli hostage, also held by Hamas. His pale, broken figure appeared in another disturbing propaganda video released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He begged for help. His family later revealed he is being starved, denied medical treatment, and “has been broken.”

These stories are not isolated incidents. They are the systematic strategy of terror that Hamas uses to break spirits and leverage pain. And while critics try to portray Israel as the aggressor, it is clear: Israel is fighting to bring its citizens home, to dismantle a regime that thrives on hostage-taking and civilian suffering.

Israel Responds to Humanitarian Concerns While Hamas Weaponizes Suffering

While Hamas accuses Israel of creating a humanitarian crisis, the Israeli government and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been working with global partners to supply aid despite war conditions. On Saturday, the IDF reported that it is “continuing the series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip.”
Within hours, 90 aid packages were airdropped to southern and northern Gaza in coordination with the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, France, and Germany.

In contrast, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reported seven more deaths due to malnutrition, including a child—adding to the 169 starvation deaths, of which 93 were children. It’s important to note: Israel has not blocked aid, as repeatedly confirmed by Israeli officials. It is Hamas, which diverts aid, controls the tunnels, and maintains complete internal authority over Gaza, that must answer to the suffering of civilians.

Hamas continues to exploit food scarcity for media manipulation, even accusing IDF troops of targeting civilians at aid centers. One such report from Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat claimed three people were killed and 36 injured near an aid site on Salah al-Din street, operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). However, the IDF clarified that it “fired warning shots” from a distance and only after repeated verbal warnings were ignored. The military stressed that these shots were not fired during aid distribution hours and confirmed:
“The IDF is not aware of any casualties as a result of the warning shots, and the details of the incident are still being examined.”

Meanwhile, GHF contradicted Hamas’s narrative, stating there was “nothing at or near our sites today.” These conflicting claims cannot be independently verified, as Israel restricts foreign journalists from entering Gaza, not to suppress facts, but to prevent the exploitation of media by Hamas, which has used reporters as shields in the past.

Blockade and War: Context Matters

In March, Israel enforced a temporary full blockade to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages. This action followed the collapse of a two-month ceasefire, after Hamas refused to provide details on remaining captives. The move was a strategic necessity, not an act of aggression, aiming to increase pressure on a group that hides behind children, hospitals, and schools.

While the blockade was partially lifted after 11 weeks, and aid resumed, the shortage of food, medicine, and fuel still persists. But the global community must recognize the real cause: Hamas prioritizes tunnels, weapons, and terror over humanitarian needs.

Let’s not forget why this war began. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unprovoked attack that killed 1,200 innocent people in Israel. In response, Israel launched an offensive to neutralize the terror threat. The Hamas-run health authorities claim that 60,430 people have since died in Gaza. However, the blame lies squarely with Hamas, who uses civilians as human shields while continuing to fire rockets from civilian zones and delay negotiations for hostage release.

This isn’t just a war between two sides—it is a war between a democracy trying to protect its citizens and a terror group that celebrates death.