Hamas has released a harrowing propaganda video showing Israeli hostage Evyatar David severely emaciated after 666 days in captivity, prompting his devastated family to warn he has only days left to live. The terrorist organisation’s latest psychological warfare tactic shows the 23-year-old bare-chested on a dirty mattress inside a Gaza tunnel, appearing to dig what he fears will be his own grave.
David’s family, who approved the video’s release on Saturday, said witnessing their son’s deliberate starvation as part of Hamas’s propaganda campaign represents “one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen.” The Instagram account ‘Bring Evyatar Home’ shared the disturbing images with the stark message: “The Holocaust must end.”
The video emerges just one day after Palestinian Islamic Jihad released footage of another starved hostage, Rom Braslavski, 21, who was shown crying and begging for his life. The terror group claimed it had lost contact with Braslavski’s captors and his fate remains unknown.
Families Invoke Holocaust Comparisons
The shocking footage has prompted anguished families of Israeli hostages to draw explicit comparisons to the Holocaust, breaking longstanding taboos against such parallels. At a demonstration against the Israeli government on Saturday, Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest, delivered a searing indictment.
“I am the image of failure for the prime minister. I avoided using the word Holocaust until now, because I am a daughter of a Holocaust survivor,” she said. “My father is going through a second Holocaust through his grandson. We see videos of the Holocaust in colour. The 2025 Holocaust is continuing and extending thanks to the Israeli government.”
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, echoed these sentiments: “In recent days, we saw the difficult videos of Rom and Evyatar from captivity. Our children are undergoing a Holocaust. Jews are becoming skin and bones because of political survival.
She accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for his own political benefit, warning: “If we don’t free everyone now, they will not survive for much longer.
Hostage Forced to Dig Own Grave
The five-minute video shows David in a tunnel tall enough for him to stand, writing on paper attached to the wall and marking days on a makeshift calendar. In statements likely dictated by his captors, he describes not eating for days at a time, surviving mainly on lentils and beans when food is available.
“Today is July 27, at 12:00 p.m., I don’t know what I’m going to eat,” he says in a weak voice. “I haven’t eaten for a few days in a row. I am in a very, very difficult situation, for a long time, for a few months.”
Most disturbingly, the video concludes with David digging in the tunnel floor, describing how he fears he is preparing his own grave as he grows “weaker and weaker” by the day.
Former Hostage Recalls Starvation Threats
Former hostage Eliya Cohen, who was released in an earlier deal, said the video transported him back to his own captivity. He recalled a terrorist telling him: “There’s no more food, no more water, no more anything. You’ll eat whatever is left of our food, because your people are starving us — so we’ll starve you.”
Cohen added bitterly: “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have an ounce of compassion for those sons of b******. But while we’re being shredded in the global media, the people we’re trying to target are sitting underground, and 90 percent of the time they’re in the kitchen, trading maqluba recipes, dipping hummus.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid urged government ministers to “watch the video of Evyatar before going to bed and try to fall asleep while thinking about Evyatar trying to survive in a tunnel.
Braslavski Family: ‘They Broke Him’
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad video of Rom Braslavski shows the Jerusalem resident lying pale and thin on the ground in an unknown location. His mother Tammy demanded immediate meetings with Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, saying they “didn’t even call” after the video’s release.
“They broke my son,” she told Israeli media. “I want him home now. They should not cry over the children of Gaza. They should cry over Rom. They should have compassion for the hostages.”
In the six-minute footage, Braslavski appears tearful and severely underfed, claiming to be on “the brink of death” after spending two years tied up on a mattress, unable to stand or use the bathroom properly.
International Comparisons Draw Outrage
Vicky Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, posted simply “Holocaust 2025” on X after viewing David’s video. Alex Witkoff, son of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, wrote that David was “a bright, healthy young man” when taken captive but “after 665 days — starved and caged by Hamas — he is barely recognizable.”
“Evyatar’s frail body and hollow eyes resemble the haunting images of Jews in Nazi concentration camps,” he stated. “Bring THEM home NOW.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry noted that David is known for his “kind soul and musical talent” and “dreams of traveling to Asia and studying music production.
Hostage Forum Demands Action
The Hostages Forum released a scathing statement appealing to both Israeli and American governments: “Look our loved ones – and us – in the eyes. The danger to their lives is tangible and immediate. The risk of losing those deceased is growing. This is the time for a comprehensive deal and an end to the war.
They added: “No more delays. No more leaving them behind. Stop this nightmare and bring them out of the tunnels and home.”
Witkoff Meets Families
US envoy Steve Witkoff met with hostage families in Tel Aviv on Saturday, acknowledging their frustration whilst stressing the current plan is to end the war, not expand it. A majority of Israelis want the hostages at home, and a majority of Gaza’s public wants the return of hostages because they want the rehabilitation of the Strip,” he said.
Witkoff, who lost a child himself, told families: “There is no victory without bringing everyone home; all of you have become part of my family.”
Both David and Braslavski were abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Of the 50 hostages still held, 20 are believed to be alive.
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