Gaza: Hamas released a harrowing video of an Israeli man in its captivity, in which the man, with an emaciated body with bones exposed, could be seen digging his own grave inside a tunnel in Gaza. Hamas’s Al Qassam Brigades released the video of the hostage, intending to remind Israel that its citizens are among the victims of the blockade that is starving Gaza to death by denying it food, water and medicine. The 57-second video shows Evyatar David, one of those taken hostage by Hamas after the attack on October 7, 2023.
How psychopathic is Hamas?
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) August 2, 2025
It forced starving hostage Evyatar David to DIG HIS OWN GRAVE for the cameras. pic.twitter.com/iMa404St4s
Evyatar, who is digging a hole in the narrow tunnel with a pickaxe, explains in Hebrew that he is digging his own grave. He says that every day his body is getting worse, and it is going straight to the grave. It is high time that he is freed so that he can join his family and sleep with them, Eviatar says in a message to Israel and the world, his words trembling in the weakness of hunger. The video ends with him sitting helplessly near a dug pit.
After the world witnessed the condition of an Israeli citizen, who is a hostage in Gaza, where people from infants to young people are dying of hunger, strong protests began to erupt in Israel against the Netanyahu government and the army.
Meanwhile, Evyatar David’s family alleged that he was being deliberately starved as part of Hamas' propaganda campaign. The family urged the government and the world to ensure his release.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Evyatar's family after the video was released. Eviatar's terrifying image is putting pressure on Netanyahu to release the hostages and end the unilateral action against Gaza. The Israeli Prime Minister stated that the visuals are shocking and that efforts are continuing to free all the hostages.
Evyatar David, an Israeli soldier, is one of the 49 remaining hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Out of the total 251 hostages, many have been released in various stages. Forty-nine people, including soldiers, remain. Meanwhile, the death toll from starvation in Gaza, which is under Israeli siege, is increasing daily. Al Jazeera reported that six more people died yesterday due to malnutrition and starvation. One hundred seventy-five people, including 93 children, have died of starvation in Gaza.