Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas after the release of a disturbing new video in which 24-year-old hostage Evyatar David is seen digging -- what he claims is his own grave -- within a Gaza tunnel.
Describing the video as "shocking" and the treatment of the hostages "Nazi-like abuse," Netanyahu called on the international community to take action against what he termed the group's "cynical and evil" propaganda.
"I conveyed to them my profound shock at the brutal video that was released by the Hamas terror group," Netanyahu said after meeting with David's family, according to the statement written in Hebrew, shared on X. "We are continuing the effort to bring back all the hostages, relentlessly, with determination, and without tire".
He went on to say, "While the State of Israel allows the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, Hamas terrorists deliberately starve our hostages, documenting them in a cynical, humiliating, and malicious manner."
The video, released by Hamas and seen widely on Saturday, is the second video of Evyatar David to have been released in under 48 hours. In the video, David's skeletal frame can be seen to be visibly broken as he uses a shovel in a narrow underground tunnel, talking slowly and weakly to the camera.
What I'm doing here now is digging my own grave," he says in Hebrew. "Each day my body gets weaker and weaker. I'm walking straight to my grave. Time is running out to be released and be able to sleep in my bed with my family."
David collapses at the end of the video, which was released with family permission. In a statement, the family said, "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."
David is one of 49 hostages whom Hamas and other Palestinian groups still hold after the October 7, 2023, cross-border capture that left 1,219 dead, primarily civilians—inside Israel. Israel retaliated by beginning a military assault in Gaza that has already resulted in more than 60,000 deaths, according to health officials in the region.
In addition to David's video, Hamas and allied Islamic Jihad group released new videos of another hostage, 21-year-old dual German-Israeli citizen Rom Braslavski, also looking frail.
The disturbing videos have caused outrage and sense of urgency in Israel, where tens of thousands protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday night calling for swift government action. The demonstration, one of the largest since the war started, included emotional appeals by families and supporters for resumed negotiations for the release of the hostages.
Netanyahu's office reported that his wife, Sara, also passed on a personal message to the families of the hostages: "She is devastated by the cruel and incomprehensible videos that were released."
The Prime Minister ended his statement with a call to the international community: "I call on all the countries of the world – stand against this Nazi-like abuse. Do not stand by. This is a moral test."
Reacting to the videos, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the images "are appalling and expose the barbarity of Hamas", calling for the release of "all hostages... immediately and unconditionally".
In the same post on X, Kallas said that "Hamas must disarm and end its rule in Gaza."
France, which earned backlash for its move to recognise Palestine, also condemned the videos. French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Sunday wrote, "Despicable, unbearable images of the Israeli hostages held for 666 days in Gaza by Hamas. They must be freed, without conditions," adding that “Hamas must be disarmed and excluded from ruling Gaza.”
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