Hamas’ Israeli hostage Iviatar David family accused the group of deliberately starving him to death as part of a “propaganda campaign.”
Saturday’s family statement came the day after Hamas released the video, showing David in a narrow concrete tunnel.
David was 24 years old and imprisoned since October 7, 2023 at a music festival in southern Israel.
“We were forced to witness our beloved son and brother Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starving to death the Hamas Tunnel in Gaza – a living skeleton, buried alively,” the family statement added.
The hostages’ families also urged the Israeli government and the world community to do “everything that can save Iviatal.”
In the video posted by Hamas, Evyatar David was heard saying, “I haven’t eaten for several days…I have hardly had water.” He was talking about his own grave.
Hamas took 251 hostages in an attack on Israel nearly two years ago. David is one of 49 hostages Israel says are still in Gaza. This includes 27 hostages, who are believed to be dead.
Still showing hostages of Israeli hostages Ivyatar David was held by Gaza Tunnel in a video released by Hamas [Other]
The aid agency accused Israel of pushing Gaza toward famine by weapons of food and weapons in the war with Hamas, an allegation it denied.
Israel said there was no “hunger” and no restrictions on aid entering Gaza – Europe, the United Nations and other close allies active in the strip rejected the claim.
On Saturday, the IDF said it “continues a series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip”.
It said that as part of a cooperation between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France, France and Germany, 90 aid packages for residents in southern and northern Gaza were air-pipeped over the past few hours.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Ministry of Health, which runs by Hamas, said seven people, including one child, died of malnutrition on Saturday.
The Ministry of Health said that since the war began, the number of malnutrition deaths has reached 169, including 93 children.
Also on Saturday in Gaza, the Ministry of Health said at least 83 people were killed and 1,079 were injured in the past 24 hours due to Israel’s military offensive.
Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat told the BBC that three bodies killed by Israeli forces have been received near Salah al-Din Street, Salah al-Din Street run by the Gaza Botanical Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the U.S. and Israel. The hospital said at least 36 people were injured.
The IDF said its troops “turned warning shots” hundreds of meters away from the aid distribution location, rather than during operational hours, after crowds did not comply with their calls to not move forward to them, “in a way that poses a threat.”
“The IDF was not aware of any casualties due to warning shots, and details of the incident are still under inspection,” it said.
“There is nothing on our website today or nearby,” GHF said.
International journalists, including the BBC, were blocked by Israel from entering Gaza independently, making it difficult to verify their claims.
Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza in early March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, shutting down a two-month ceasefire. It said it hopes to put pressure on the group to release its remaining Israeli hostages.
The aid agency said the lockdown partially eased amid a warning of an imminent famine by experts around the world, but food, medicine and fuel shortages remain.
Israel launched an attack in an attack led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed.
Health authorities operating in Hamas said 60,430 people were killed due to Israeli military movements.
