Hostage video released as families meet with US envoy
The nearly five-minute clip shows 24-year-old Evyatar David, emaciated to the bone, in a narrow tunnel, being forced to dig what is described as his "own grave".
His family approved the video's release on Saturday.
"Hamas is using our son as a live experiment in a vile hunger campaign," the family wrote in a statement.
"He is being starved purely to serve Hamas's propaganda."
David was abducted on October 7, 2023, while attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel during the attack by Hamas.
In the video, he recounts the days in July when he was given only beans, lentils, or nothing at all to eat. Sometimes, he says, he went days without any food.
Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, David says at one point: "I have been completely abandoned by you, my prime minister, by you, who should be taking care of me and all the other prisoners."
In its propaganda, Hamas refers to its hostages as "prisoners".
A staged scene at the end of the clip shows David holding a shovel, digging a hollow area in the sandy floor of the tunnel.
"Here I am digging my own grave," he says.
He adds that he is growing weaker by the day and believes this will be his burial site. The clip ends with the text message: "Only a ceasefire agreement will bring them (the hostages) back."
Also on Saturday, relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza gathered behind a barbed wire installation in Tel Aviv to draw attention to the plight of their loved ones.
"Our children are experiencing a Holocaust. Never again is happening right now. They will not survive much longer," said Einav Zangauker, the mother of a man with dual US and Israeli citizenship who was abducted by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023.
"Netanyahu, the time has come to do the only thing that will bring back all the hostages - put a comprehensive deal on the table that will end the war!"
The US special envoy Steve Witkoff also met with the families at the site after visiting a food distribution site in Gaza, according to Israeli media reports.
In a meeting with them, Witkoff said the US will bring their loved ones home and ensure that Hamas is held accountable.
"We will get your children home and hold Hamas responsible for any bad acts on their part. We will do what's right for the Gazan people," Witkoff told the families, according to a statement.
"We know who is alive, and someone will be to blame if they don't come out alive. The US stands behind this statement," he added.
The envoy also raised hopes that the war's end is near.
"We have a plan to end the war and bring everyone home."
For US President Donald Trump, the release of all hostages is a "sacred mission," he said.
At least 20 hostages are believed to be alive in Gaza.
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