Palestinian Islamic Jihad releases video of frail Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, leaving family reeling: ‘They broke my boy'
Braslavski, 21, looks ghostly and frail as he cries during the six-minute video, which the terror group said was recorded days before contact was lost with his captors, The Times of Israel reported.
His family claimed ISJ 'broke' Braslavski and is pleading that his life not be forgotten.
4 Israel hostage Rom Braslavski was used in an Islamic Jihad video shared on July 31, 2025.
'They broke my boy. I want him home now,' his devastated mom Tami Braslavski told Ynet news.
'I know how many beatings he is taking. I know because Rom doesn't cry. If he cries, it is because they are abusing him. Look at him. Thin, limp, crying. All his bones are out.'
The video was not released to the public, but still images approved by the family show a gaunt Rom Braslavski with stubble and tears welling up in the dark circles beneath his eyes.
This is the second video the PIJ has released of Braslavski, previously issuing a scripted video in which the captive said he was experiencing 'hell' and appeared visibly ill.
Braslavski's family demanded a joint meeting with security chiefs and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Times of Israel reported.
4 A 'Bring Him Home Now' poster featuring Rom Braslavski after he was abducted to the Gaza Strip during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack on Israel.
AFP via Getty Images
They are also hoping his cause is not lost in the hearts of the public, which has been overwhelmed by images of starvation from the Gaza Strip.
'People are speaking a lot about what is happening in Gaza, about the hunger, and I ask all those who are speaking about hunger: Did you see our Rom? He doesn't receive food, and he doesn't receive medicine,' the family wrote in a statement issued by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
'He is simply forgotten there.'
4 Rom Braslavski's mother Tami calls for her son to be freed from the Gaza Strip.
Israel in Greece
4 Braslavski was used in a previous video released by the PIJ.
In Gaza, food conditions have deteriorated into famine conditions, with water shortages also bringing the area to the verge of a 'man-made' drought, according to the United Nations.
At least 48 Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli soldiers at an aid site while attempting to collect their food rations on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Israel estimates that there are still 20 living hostages trapped in Gaza and the bodies of up to 50 who perished while captive.
President Trump urged Hamas to free the remaining Israeli hostages and bring an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
'The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Thursday.
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is set to touch down in Israel and visit aid sites with Israel ambassador Mike Huckabee.
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The Hill
28 minutes ago
- The Hill
Huckabee lashes out at British leader over call for Gaza ceasefire
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Friday lashed out against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for urging leaders to deescalate conflict in the Gaza Strip. 'So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas & feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved? Did UK surrender to Nazis and drop food to them?' Huckabee wrote in a post on X. 'Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer? That wasn't food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!' the ambassador continued, later slamming the leader for sending food to Gaza. His statement came hours after Starmer said both Israel and Hamas need to engage in ' good fatih negotiations ' to end the humanitarian crisis in the West Bank. 'How much food has Starmer and the UK sent to Gaza? @IsraeliPM has already sent 2 MILLION TONS into Gaza & none of it even getting to hostages,' Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, ranted. 'Maybe UK PM ought to sit this one out & follow Arab League who said Hamas should disarm & release ALL hostages immediately.' Israel's war cabinet voted Thursday to escalate operations in the region, although more than 100 nations have called for leaders to implement a two-state solution to the ongoing war and have offered to help author a path to peace. 'The Israeli Government's decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately,' Starmer said. 'Every day the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and hostages taken by Hamas are being held in appalling and inhuman conditions. We need a ceasefire now,' he added. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he intends to have Arabs rule over Gazans without input from Jerusalem. Huckabee has endorsed the stance and has strongly backed the Israeli prime minister's advancements.
Atlantic
29 minutes ago
- Atlantic
What's Really Driving Netanyahu's Decisions
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Boston Globe
an hour ago
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Advertisement Germany said Friday it would not authorize the export of military equipment that could be used in Gaza until further notice. Tensions could rise further if Netanyahu follows through on the more sweeping plans to take control of the entire territory, two decades after Israel's unilateral withdrawal. Israel's new plan may be aimed in part at pressuring Hamas to accept a ceasefire on Israel's terms. It may also reflect the reservations of Israel's military chief of staff, General Eyal Zamir, who reportedly warned that expanding operations would endanger the remaining 20 or so living hostages held by Hamas and further strain Israel's army after nearly two years of regional wars. The military 'will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones,' Netanyahu's office said in a statement after the Security Cabinet meeting. Amir Avivi, a retired general and chairman of Israel's Defense and Security Forum, estimated it would take less than three months to mobilize some 30,000 troops, evacuate Palestinian civilians, and take over Gaza City. Hamas-led militants triggered the war when they stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 people. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals, but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 of them to be alive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and independent experts view the ministry's figures as the most reliable estimate of casualties. Israel has disputed them without offering a toll of its own. 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A Palestinian-Arab committee would run Gaza and oversee the reconstruction efforts until the establishment of a Palestinian administration with a new police force, trained by two US allies in the Middle East, to take over the strip, the official said. It is unclear what role the Western-backed Palestinian Authority would play. The second official said the US administration has been briefed on the broad lines of the framework. A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief the media, said the group has yet to receive details on the latest efforts to revive ceasefire talks. AP reached out to the governments in Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, as well as the White House, for comment. 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