Hamas releases shocking video of Israeli hostage looking like a concentration camp victim after 666 days in captivity
Evyatar David's family approved the use of the terrorist organisation's video on Saturday, which shows him bare chested on a dirty mattress inside a tunnel in Gaza.
He can be seen writing on a piece of paper on the wall and walking around in the tunnel which is just tall enough for him stand up.
The video goes on to accuse Israel of starving not only Palestinians but Israeli hostages as well.
The last proof of life from Evyatar, who was taken hostage from the Nova music festival during the October 7 attacks, was back in February.
Then Hamas published a video of him and fellow hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal sitting inside a car as they watched other captives being released from Gaza.
In a statement today, the David family 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.
'Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition. Hamas is using our son as a live experiment in a vile hunger campaign.
'The deliberate starvation of our son as part of a propaganda campaign is one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen. He is being starved purely to serve Hamas's propaganda.
'Israel and the international community must oppose Hamas's cruelty and ensure that our Evyatar immediately receives proper nutrition.'
The Instagram account 'Bring Evyatar Home' also posted on social media 'The Holocaust must end' as they shared the latest images of him.
Meanwhile on Thursday, Islamic Jihad released a hostage video, showing a starved Rom Braslavski crying and begging for his life.
Families of Israeli hostages criticised the shocking images of the hostages in Gaza.
Speaking at a demonstration against the Israeli government on Saturday, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest said her son was too going through a Holocaust.
'I am the image of failure for the prime minister. I avoided using the word Holocaust until now, because I am a daughter of a Holocaust survivor,' Anat Angrest said.
'My father is going through a second Holocaust through his grandson. We see videos of the Holocaust in colour.
'The 2025 Holocaust is continuing and extending thanks to the Israeli government,' she added.
Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker, said: 'In recent days, we saw the difficult videos of Rom and Evyatar from captivity.
'Our children are undergoing a Holocaust. Jews are becoming skin and bones because of political survival.
'If we don't free everyone now, they will not survive for much longer,' Zangauker said.
She has repeatedly accused Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of prolonging the war for his own political survival.
The Hostage Forum in Israel also released a scathing statement following the images of Evyatar, appealing directly to both the Israeli and American governments.
'Look our loved ones – and us – in the eyes. The danger to their lives is tangible and immediate,' it read.
'The risk of losing those deceased is growing. 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 forum said.
Vicky Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, posted the word: 'Holocaust 2025' on X after seeing the video of David.
Former hostage, Eliya Cohen, said that seeing the video of Evyatar took him back to the day a terrorist came to him and said: 'There's no more food, no more water, no more anything.
'You'll eat whatever is left of our food, because your people are starving us — so we'll starve you.'
'Don't get me wrong,' Cohen continued: 'I don't have an ounce of compassion for those sons of b******.
'But while we're being shredded in the global media, the people we're trying to target are sitting underground, and 90 percent of the time they're in the kitchen, trading maqluba recipes, dipping hummus.'
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid meanwhile asked ministers in Netanyahu's government to 'watch the video of Evyatar before going to bed and try to fall asleep while thinking about Evyatar trying to survive in a tunnel.'
Israel's Foreign Ministry said that Evyatar is known for his 'kind soul and musical talent. He dreams of traveling to Asia and studying music production.'
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with families of hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday, where he stressed that the current plan is to end the war and not expand it.
'A majority of Israelis want the hostages at home, and a majority of Gaza's public wants the return of hostages because they want the rehabilitation of the Strip, Witkoff said.
'There is no victory without bringing everyone home; all of you have become part of my family.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
29 minutes ago
- ITV News
Aerial footage filmed by ITV News shows scale of Gaza's destruction
Last week, ITV News International Editor Emma Murphy filmed from on board a Jordanian flight dropping aid into Gaza. The first aerials of Gaza for months document the territory's continued destruction. Filmed by ITV News International Editor Emma Murphy, on board a plane dropping aid into Gaza, the images show huge swathes of land in ruins. Journalists are prevented from entering Gaza by Israel. Looking out the plane windows from 15,000 feet is the closest any foreign media has been to seeing the aftermath of 22 months of war, apart from trips arranged by the Israeli military. Those on the flights were told they were only allowed to film the aid being dropped, not Gaza below. Entire areas have been levelled after months of Israeli bombardment; the land, once pebbled with spots of green, has largely turned to dust. The Al Wafa Centre for Elderly Care, located in Al-Zahraa City, stands out in a landscape primarily made of rubble. The centre said it provides care for elderly people over 60 with no one to care for them, free of charge. While the building still stands, it has not escaped aerial attacks, according to Palestinian sources. In November 2023, there are multiple reports of Israeli shells hitting the elderly care centre and killing its director, Dr. Medhat Muheisen. Videos from the centre's social media, before the war began ,show elderly patients being fed, provided with activities and partaking in exercise. They also show the surrounding area of the hospital and what stood there before it was turned to rubble. This screenshot from a video posted in 2021 shows a number of tall buildings that once stood near the centre. Their fate is highlighted in yellow below; once tall frames razed to the ground or crumpled in on themselves. Pressure is being levelled on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire with Hamas, after images of emaciated hostages held in Gaza were released. Talks previously broke down in July, after President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas' response showed "a lack of desire" to reach a truce. The videos of the hostages emerged as experts warn that Gaza faces "a worst-case scenario of famine" because of Israel's blockade, which will lead to widespread death. Gaza's Health Ministry said Monday that five more Palestinian adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours. It claimed that 87 adults have died from malnutrition-related issues since late June, and that 93 children have died since the war began from a lack of food. Israel's government has denied that people are starving to death in Gaza.
Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Labour's Gaza mess is only worsening
Sir Keir Starmer's Government is digging itself into an ever deeper hole over its plan to recognise Palestine as a state. At home, this cowardly gesture has unleashed a hornets' nest; abroad, it has gratified the butchers of Hamas. Supporters of Palestine Action, which was proscribed after its attack on RAF Brize Norton, are calling for mass civil disobedience next Saturday in order to 'overwhelm' the police and courts. One of their leaders is Moazzam Begg, who spent three years as a detainee in Guantanamo Bay. Speaking in Birmingham at the weekend, Mr Begg told what he called 'the resistance' that 'we have a massive presence in this city' and must 'engage our leaders, our imams, our habits, those in positions of power, to join, there is strength in numbers'. In 2010 Mr Begg was paid an undisclosed sum in compensation for his time in Guantanamo, reported at the time to be £1m or more. In 2014 he was arrested for Syria-related terrorism offences, although charges were subsequently dropped. Will he now once more face the law? Supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation such as Palestine Action is a criminal offence. Meanwhile, those who warned against rewarding Hamas for rape, massacre and hostage-taking have been vindicated. Last week, Basem Naim, one of the terrorist organisation's leaders, exulted in the UK's support for the Palestinian cause: 'Victory and liberation are closer than we expected.' Hamas is still running Gaza; British recognition of Palestine would hand them a huge propaganda victory. Yesterday, the Prime Minister's spokesman refused to say whether such a state would be recognised if Hamas remains in control of Gaza. Downing Street repeats the mantra that ' Hamas can have no role in the future governance of Gaza '. But it insists that it cannot make recognition conditional on the actions of Hamas, a terrorist group, as the UK does not negotiate with terrorists and such demands would be tantamount to negotiation. Conditions seemingly only apply to democratic states. The legal knots in which this Government has tied itself would be comical if the consequences were not so tragic. Starmer and Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, are both lawyers to their fingertips. Yet they have conjured up a policy that is legally incoherent, morally indefensible and pleases nobody.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘No one should act surprised,' says UN expert who warned of starvation in Gaza last year
The UN expert who first warned that Israel was orchestrating a campaign of deliberate mass starvation in Gaza more than 500 days ago, has said that governments and corporations cannot claim to be surprised at the horror now unfolding. 'Israel has built the most efficient starvation machine you can imagine. So while it's always shocking to see people being starved, no one should act surprised. All the information has been out in the open since early 2024,' Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told the Guardian. 'Israel is starving Gaza. It's genocide. It's a crime against humanity. It's a war crime. I have been repeating it and repeating it and repeating it, I feel like Cassandra,' said Fakhri, referring to the Greek mythological figure whose warnings and predictions were ignored. On 9 October 2023 – two days after the deadly Hamas attack – Israel's then defense minister, Yoav Gallant, declared a 'complete siege' of Gaza and said he would halt the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel. By December 2023, Gazans accounted for 80% of the people in the world experiencing catastrophic hunger, according to UN and international aid agency figures. Now, widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving the sharp rise in hunger-related deaths across Gaza, with more than 20,000 children hospitalized for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global initiative that provides real-time data on hunger and famine for the UN and aid groups. The 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out' across the Gaza Strip, the IPC warned in an alert earlier this week. Fakhri was among the first to warn about the impending famine – and the need for urgent action to stop Israel from starving 2 million people in Gaza. In an interview with the Guardian published on 28 February 2024, Fakhri said: 'We have never seen a civilian population made to go so hungry so quickly and so completely, that is the consensus among starvation experts … Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian … this is now a situation of genocide.' The following month, the international court of justice recognized the risk of genocide in Gaza and drew attention to the 'spread of famine and starvation'. The ICJ said that Israel must immediately take all necessary and effective measures, in cooperation with the UN, to ensure unfettered access to humanitarian aid including food, water, shelter, fuel and medicines. In May, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defense minister Gallant became the first ever individuals to be formally accused by an international court of deliberate starvation, which is a war crime. In July 2024, a group of UN experts including Fakhri declared a famine after the first deaths from starvation were reported in Gaza. Fakhri also published a detailed report for the UN into Israel's decades-long control over food production and supplies to Palestinians, a stranglehold which meant 80% of people in Gaza were dependent on aid when Gallant announced the current siege in October 2023. Yet there has been little or no action to stop Israel starving Palestinians, which it has achieved by systematically destroying local food production (greenhouses, orchards, farmland) and blocking aid – in violation of international law. According to Fakhri, this is why famine has now taken hold in Gaza. 'Famine is always political, always predictable and always preventable. But there is no verb to famine. We don't famine people, we starve them – and that inevitably leads to famine if no political action is taken to avoid it. 'But to frame the mass starvation as a consequence of the most recent blockade, is a misunderstanding of how starvation works and what's going on in Gaza. People don't all of a sudden starve, children don't wither away that quickly. This is because they have been deliberately weakened for so long. The state of Israel itself has used food as a weapon since its creation. It can and does loosen and tighten its starvation machine in response to pressure; it has been fine-tuning this for 25 years.' Despite stark images of skeletal Palestinians, the Israeli government and some of its allies have continued to insist that the hunger is the result of logistical problems, not a state policy. Last week Netanyahu said: 'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza. There is no starvation in Gaza.' Unicef is among multiple aid agencies to confirm that malnutrition and starvation have escalated since early March 2025 – when Israel unilaterally violated a ceasefire agreed after Donald Trump returned to the White House. Israel reinstated a total blockade after allowing some aid trucks in during the ceasefire, though UN agencies and charities on the ground said it was never enough to fully meet the needs of the starved, sick and weakened population. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an opaque logistics group backed by Israel and the Trump administration, began operations in May, with armed security provided by private contractors and the Israeli military. It was authorized to replace 400 UN distribution hubs with just four across Gaza, in response to unproven claims that international aid was being diverted by Hamas. The UN and hundreds of aid groups condemned the move as a weaponization of aid that violated long-established humanitarian norms. On 1 June, Israeli soldiers killed 32 people at GHF sites, and since then more than 1,300 starving Palestinians have been killed trying to access food. Israel has long sought to discredit and weaken the UN and other international mechanisms including the courts, which it sees as hostile to its ongoing de facto annexation of Palestinian territories, accusing them of antisemitism. 'This is using aid not for humanitarian purposes, but to control populations, to move them, to humiliate and weaken people as part of their military tactics. The GHF is so frightening because it might be the new militarized dystopia of aid of the future,' Fakhri said. In a statement, GHF rejected the reports of Palestinian deaths as 'false and exaggerated statistics' and accused the UN of not doing enough. 'If the UN and other groups would collaborate with us, we could end the starvation, desperation and violent incidents almost overnight. We could scale up, add more distribution sites and ramp up direct-to-community delivery which GHF is piloting now,' a spokesperson said. The Israeli government did not respond to request for comment. The deaths from starvation and aid-hub massacres come on top of at least 60,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli bombs and tanks. Studies have concluded that the real death toll is almost certainly much higher, and Israel has continued to deny international researchers and journalists entry into Gaza. Fakhri and other UN experts have repeatedly urged member states and corporations to act to stop the bombs and famine by cutting financial and military aid and trade with Israel, as well as broad-based economic and political sanctions. 'I see stronger political language, more condemnation, more plans proposed, but despite the change in rhetoric, we're still in the phase of inaction. The politicians and corporations have no excuse, they're really shameful. The fact that millions of people are mobilizing in growing numbers shows that everyone in the world understands how many different countries, corporations and individuals are culpable.' Fakhri argues that in light of the US persistent vetoing of ceasefire resolutions at the UN security council, it is incumbent on the UN general assembly to call for peacekeepers to accompany humanitarian convoys into Gaza. 'They have the majority of votes, and most importantly, millions of people are demanding this. Ordinary people are trying to break through an illegal blockade to deliver humanitarian aid, to implement international law their governments are failing to do. Why else do we have peacekeepers if not to end genocide and prevent starvation?'
