A disturbing video released by the Palestinian group Hamas has shown Israeli hostage Evyatar David, visibly emaciated, digging what he describes as his own grave in an underground tunnel in Gaza. The footage marks the second such video of David circulated by Hamas within 48 hours and has drawn widespread attention in Israel and abroad.
In the video, 24-year-old David appears skeletal and weak, struggling to speak as he holds a shovel and digs in what seems to be a narrow underground tunnel. Speaking slowly in Hebrew, he says, “What I’m doing now is digging my own grave. Every day my body becomes weaker and weaker. I’m walking directly to my grave. There is the grave where I am going to be buried in. Time is running out to be released and be able to sleep in my bed with my family.” The clip ends with David breaking down emotionally.
David’s family has approved the release of the footage. In a statement, they 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 still held by Hamas and allied Palestinian groups in Gaza. These hostages were taken during the October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,219 people in Israel, most of them civilians. Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza, which has led to the deaths of more than 60,000 people so far, according to Palestinian sources.
Following the release of the latest video, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with David’s family. His office said the prime minister expressed “profound shock” at the video and reiterated that efforts to secure the hostages’ release were continuing “constantly and relentlessly.” Netanyahu accused Hamas of “deliberately starving our hostages” and using the footage in “a cynical and evil manner.”
Alongside David’s video, Hamas and Islamic Jihad also released another video showing hostage Rom Braslavski, a 21-year-old German-Israeli citizen, in similarly frail condition. The release of the two videos has intensified public pressure on the Israeli government, with renewed demands for action. On Saturday evening, tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv for a mass protest, calling on the government to act urgently to bring the hostages home. The rally was one of the largest since the conflict began.
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
David was last seen in March during a temporary ceasefire, when he appeared silently in the background as other hostages were released. Human rights experts have raised serious concerns about the nature of the videos, stating that such treatment of hostages may constitute war crimes under international law. The United Nations has previously said that hostage taking, mistreatment and psychological torture are clear violations of international standards.
Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas remain fragile. Recent negotiations held in Doha ended without any breakthrough. Israel has insisted that all hostages must be released before it considers halting military operations. Hamas, on the other hand, has said it will not disarm until a sovereign Palestinian state is recognised. Its leadership has repeated its position that it will continue armed resistance until that goal is achieved.
Meanwhile, aid to Gaza continues to arrive at a very slow pace. UN-supported food security experts have warned that the region is now entering the “worst-case scenario of famine.” Hamas has referred to this situation in its hostage videos, drawing comparisons between starving Palestinians and the condition of the hostages, as part of its messaging.
In Tel Aviv, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met with families of the hostages. He said that the Trump team believed a deal could be reached to bring all hostages home together. “President Trump now believes that everybody ought to come home at once — no piecemeal deals. That doesn’t work,” he said, according to Axios.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that Netanyahu also spoke with the families of both David and Braslavski on Saturday. Despite growing international criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the Israeli government has so far remained firm in its stance regarding the conditions for a ceasefire.
