Israel Calls For Help After Hamas Released Video Of Emaciated Hostage
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for urgent international intervention to save Israeli hostages held by Hamas, following the release of disturbing footage showing 24-year-old Evyatar David visibly emaciated inside a tunnel in Gaza.
In a post on X, Netanyahu accused Hamas of subjecting hostages to “systematic starvation” and urged the Red Cross to provide immediate food and medical assistance.
“I spoke today with the head of the Red Cross delegation in our region, Julian Larson, and requested his immediate involvement in providing food to our hostages and supplying them with medical treatment,” Netanyahu wrote.
“The lie of starvation propagated by Hamas is spreading worldwide, but the reality is that systematic starvation is being carried out against our hostages—men and women who are subjected to severe and cruel physical and psychological abuse,” he added.
Netanyahu’s remarks came after Hamas released a video of David, kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attack, saying he had gone days without food or water and was digging what they described as his own grave.
The footage drew widespread condemnation and global calls for a ceasefire and the release of remaining captives.
“The world cannot remain indifferent to the shocking images that are reminiscent of Nazi crimes,” Netanyahu said, calling on world leaders to condemn Hamas and Islamic Jihad and halt all direct or indirect support to the groups.
The family of Evyatar David also issued a statement condemning Hamas for using starvation as propaganda.
“We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother… deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza—a living skeleton, buried alive,” the family said.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the video as “sickening” and called for an immediate ceasefire that would secure hostage release and allow unrestricted humanitarian aid.
“Every hostage must be released unconditionally. Hamas must disarm and have no control over Gaza. We are working with partners on a long-term solution and plan for peace. This must begin with an immediate ceasefire, that frees the hostages, as well as removing inhumane aid restrictions,” Lammy wrote on X.
French President Emmanuel Macron, naming David and another hostage Rom Braslavski, said Hamas must be fully demilitarized and excluded from any future governance of Gaza, insisting that peace depends on a two-state solution.
“An abject cruelty, an unlimited inhumanity: this is what Hamas embodies. The unbearable images showing Israeli hostages held in Gaza remind us of this horror. France’s absolute priority and imperative is the immediate release of all hostages,” Macron said.
Meanwhile, humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza. Aid agencies say Israel’s blockade and ongoing military campaign have driven parts of the territory toward famine.
Israel denies restricting aid and says it is working with partners to deliver assistance, including recent airdrops in coordination with the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, France, and Germany.
The Israel Defense Forces said 90 aid packages were airdropped on Saturday, but Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported seven additional deaths from malnutrition the same day, including a child.
BREAKING: Al-Qassam Brigades released footage of Israeli captive Evyatar David:
“He hoped to be released by a deal.
The occupation government has decided to starve them.
They eat what we eat, they drink what we drink.
pic.twitter.com/OHo0K9GVWb— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) August 1, 2025
Israel Calls For Help After Hamas Released Video Of Emaciated Hostage is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
