The family of Israeli hostage Evyatar David has issued a harrowing condemnation of a propaganda video released by Hamas, in which the 24-year-old appears severely emaciated and is forced to dig what he calls his “own grave” in a Gaza tunnel. The family, who approved the release of the disturbing footage, described their son as “a living skeleton, buried alive” and accused Hamas of “deliberately and cynically starving” him for psychological warfare.
The nearly five-minute video, which was widely circulated on social media, shows David, kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, looking skeletal and weak. His ribs are clearly visible through his gaunt frame as he speaks faintly to the camera, detailing the inhumane conditions of his captivity. “I haven’t eaten for days,” he says at one point, “I barely get drinking water.” He describes a diet of beans and lentils, and recounts going for days without any food at all.
In the most chilling part of the clip, a visibly weak David is shown holding a shovel, digging a hollow area in the sandy floor of the tunnel. “Here I am digging my own grave,” he says, with the video ending with the message: “Only a ceasefire agreement will bring them (the hostages) back.”
The David family, in a powerful statement, said they were forced to release the video to the public to highlight the desperate urgency of their son’s condition. “Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition,” they said. “Hamas is using our son, Evyatar, as a living experiment in a disgusting hunger campaign.” They demanded that humanitarian aid entering Gaza also reach their son, a call that has been echoed by protestors and international bodies.
The video has sent a wave of shock and anger through Israel, intensifying public pressure on the government to secure the release of all remaining hostages. The release of the video follows a recent visit by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to Israel, where he met with hostage families. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that he spoke with David’s family and expressed his “profound shock” over the footage, while reiterating that efforts to return all hostages are “ongoing, and will continue constantly and relentlessly.”
Hamas has reportedly used the video to draw a false equivalency between the hostages’ conditions and the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where a UN-backed report has warned that “famine is now playing out.” This tactic, however, has been fiercely rejected by officials and former hostages. Former captive Tal Shoham, who was held with David in the same tunnel, revealed that Hamas terrorists had air conditioning, cable TV, and “plenty of food” stolen from aid deliveries, while the hostages starved.
The video is the latest in a series of psychological tactics employed by Hamas, which has also released harrowing footage of other hostages in recent days. For the families of the approximately 20 remaining living hostages, the images serve as a painful, visceral reminder of the passage of time and the deteriorating health of their loved ones. The David family’s plea is now a global one, a desperate cry for their son’s life that has brought the human cost of the ongoing conflict into stark and horrifying relief.