In a chilling and grotesque act of psychological warfare, Hamas released a disturbing video showing Israeli hostage Evyatar David—visibly emaciated and barely able to stand—being forced to dig what appears to be his own grave in a tunnel beneath Gaza. The 24-year-old hostage is seen crossing off days on a calendar, holding a nearly empty can of beans, and stating he hasn’t eaten in days. “This can is for two days… so that I don’t die,” he says. “This is the grave I think I’m going to be buried in. Time is running out.”
The nearly five-minute video, released Friday, is part of a calculated propaganda campaign by Hamas meant to terrorize the Israeli public and pressure the Netanyahu government into making concessions. It comes amid stalled negotiations between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who continue to hold Israeli civilians hostage while making outrageous demands.
The David family, who permitted the release of the footage, issued a heart-wrenching statement via the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters:
“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. The deliberate starvation of our son as part of a propaganda campaign is one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen," the family wrote.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the footage, stating:
“Hamas terrorists deliberately starve our hostages, documenting them in a cynical, humiliating, and malicious manner," Netanyahu said.
This latest video lays bare the depravity of Hamas, revealing once again that the terror group has no regard for human life—Israeli or Palestinian. By showcasing such horrific abuse, Hamas is not only committing war crimes but also revealing the depths to which it will sink in its campaign of terror and manipulation.