Israel's Netanyahu responds to Hamas videos of emaciated hostages
:: August 3, 2025
"Dear citizens of Israel, like you, I was deeply shocked yesterday. I saw the horrifying videos of our dear sons, Rom and Evyatar. I called the families, embraced them on behalf of myself and my wife—and on your behalf too.
You see them wasting away in a dungeon. But the Hamas monsters surrounding them have thick, fleshy arms. They have everything they need to eat. They are starving them the way the Nazis starved the Jews. And when I see this, I understand exactly what Hamas wants. It doesn't want a deal. It wants to break us through these horrifying videos, through the false propaganda it spreads around the world. But we will not break. I am filled with even stronger determination to free our kidnapped sons, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to the State of Israel."
:: Hamas Military Wing
:: Footage of Evyatar David
:: Date unknown
:: Islamic Jihad Armed Wing
:: Footage of Rom Braslavski
:: Date unknown
:: A Hamas military spokesperson said on Sunday it is ready to deliver aid to the hostages
:: if Israel opens humanitarian corridors permanently and halts "all forms of air traffic" during the delivery
:: More than 170 Palestinians, including 93 children, have died of starvation or malnutrition, Gaza's health ministry says
Hamas's military wing released new video on Saturday (August 2) showing Israeli hostage Evyatar David. The video shows Evyatar appearing skeletally thin.
Reuters was not able to confirm the location or date when the video was recorded.
The footage prompted former hostage Tal Shoham to publish a video appeal calling for pressure on Hamas to give food to the hostages.
And the family of Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski authorized the publication of part of a video that was released on Friday (August 1) by the Islamic Jihad.
Israeli protesters blocked a main Tel Aviv highway during the morning rush hour on Sunday (August 3), demanding the Israeli government end the Gaza war and ensure the return of all the hostages.
On Saturday (August 2), U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy told families of hostages being held by Hamas that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza.
Trump has made ending the conflict a major priority of his administration, though negotiations have faltered.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
20 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Istanbul Projects in Limbo as Mayor, City Officials Locked Up
Over 100 Istanbul officials have been detained since mid-March, including Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was arrested just days before he planned to announce his run for Turkey's president. Their arrests, seen by many as a crackdown on political dissent by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have not only disrupted day-to-day governance but also stalled critical projects — including those aimed at fortifying the city against earthquakes. Meanwhile, the central government is advancing its push for Kanal Istanbul, a multibillion-dollar canal project that stands to strain the region's resources. It had been strongly opposed by Imamoglu, who referred to it as 'a dagger intended to be thrust into the city's heart.' Read more from contributor Jennifer Hattam today on CityLab: Major Istanbul Projects Are Stalling as City Leaders Sit in Jail
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Don't fall for their lies': Herzog slams int'l media on falling for Hamas starvation propaganda
Herzog expressed outrage that staged images of hunger in Gaza were gaining more global attention than videos of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavsky. President Isaac Herzog urged the world "not to fall for Hamas's lies," during a diplomatic meeting with Estonian President Alar Karis on Wednesday. The Israeli president and First Lady, Michal, attended the meeting at the Presidential Palace in Tallinn, Estonia's capital. During the meeting, Herzog expressed outrage that staged images of hunger in Gaza were gaining more global attention than videos of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavsky. Standing beside Karis, Herzog displayed photos of the two emaciated hostages, who remain captive under Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). "This is an image of Evyatar David, a young kid who was at the party, at the Nova Festival, and he is now skin and bones. His situation is life-threatening. And you see the fat hand of his captor – they have food there. The other room is full of food – the hostages who came out of this tunnel told us," Herzog stated. "And this is Rom Braslavski, another hostage they aired in a video two days ago. All the other hostages – they are in a life-threatening situation," he added. Herzog emphasized Israel's recent humanitarian efforts in Gaza while stressing the urgency of resolving the hostage crisis: "Therefore, in order to resolve the situation, we tell the world: You want to move forward? Get a hostage deal, get a ceasefire. In the last two weeks, Israel has overhauled the entire approach to the humanitarian situation, pushing in major quantities of humanitarian aid, 30,000 tons in the last week, 30 tons only by air drops yesterday, hundreds of trucks." He also criticized the United Nations for logistical failures, stating, "The UN is holding hundreds of trucks, almost 800 trucks. The UN can distribute and is failing to distribute." Herzog then drew attention to a staged Gaza photo that appeared in a German newspaper, depicting Gazans holding empty pots for the cameras rather than waiting for food distribution. "Instead of that, we see a PR campaign like this one revealed in a German newspaper. You see a photographer staging the Gaza people to show that they are lacking food. This is staged. We don't shy away from the humanitarian need to help the people of Gaza, but we ask the world not to fall for the lies. Condemn Hamas and say to Hamas, 'You want to move on? Get the hostages out.'" Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
UCLA in talks with Trump administration to end $584M freeze
The university is the first public institution to contend with a targeted government funding freeze. The University of California, Los Angeles, is negotiating with the federal government to end a research funding pause of more than half a billion dollars, according to the school. Approximately $584 million has been suspended, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said in an Aug. 6 message to the campus community. James Milliken, the president of the University of California system, said the school has committed to "engage in dialogue with the federal administration" in hopes of ending the freeze, "as soon as possible." On July 29, the Justice Department notified UCLA that it had violated federal civil rights laws and allowed discrimination to occur against Jewish and Israeli students when it failed to adequately respond to protests in the spring of 2024 stemming from the Israel-Hamas war. Read more: Ivy League colleges face a reckoning after Columbia's Trump deal Since then, grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have been cut off, jeopardizing the university's research apparatus. "This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination," Frenk said in a July 31 statement. Read more: The details of Columbia's extraordinary $220 million deal with Trump The funding freeze mirrors similar actions the federal government has taken against other prestigious colleges in recent weeks and months, prompting a series of unprecedented agreements with schools like Columbia and Brown. UCLA is the first major public institution, however, whose research support has come into the Trump administration's crosshairs. Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@ Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @
