Hamas released two disturbing videos of 24‑year‑old hostage Evyatar David, kidnapped during the October 7 massacre from the Nova music festival, who has now been held in Gaza for 666 days. The Gaza-based terror group claimed that David’s emaciated condition was due to eating from the same food and drink as his captors
But a moment captured in a new video released Saturday undercuts that claim: a captor hands David a can of food overflowing with nourishment, contrasting sharply with his visibly malnourished frame. “This can is for two days,” David says in the footage, reviewing his journal of meals—lentils, beans—or days when he received no food at all.
Terrorist’s hand in Evyatar David video exposes Hamas lie
Hamas asserts in the video that “the occupation government decided to starve them,” seeking to draw equivalence between hostages suffering in captivity and reports of Gaza civilians facing famine. Israeli officials believe the video, filmed around July 27, is part of Hamas’ ongoing pressure campaign to force a stalled hostage deal. Hamas refuses Israel’s conditions for ending the war.
Former hostages Tal Shoham and Omer Wenkert, who were held alongside David and fellow captive Guy Gilboa Dalal in the same tunnel, strongly rebutted the portrayal. “In that tunnel just meters away behind an iron door, Hamas terrorists were feasting on meat, vegetables, fish and fruit,” Shoham said. “They had everything they needed, and they stole it all from humanitarian aid meant for Gaza civilians.”
“These are sadistic, intentional scenes of hunger used purely for propaganda,” Shoham added. “Evyatar has lost more than 40, perhaps even 50 kg, and is in life‑threatening condition. I don’t think he has many days left if no food is delivered immediately.”
He noted that when he was released in February, David already suffered from severe scurvy caused by extreme vitamin C deficiency—a disease not seen in the West in over two centuries. According to Shoham, conditions have deteriorated further since.
Speaking at a Tel Aviv rally demanding a deal for the release of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza and an end to the ongoing war, Wenkert addressed the worsening condition of the captives: "I know they have food. I smelled it every day while I was given two spoonfuls of rice. They have everything. So why? Why won’t they give it to him? Stop lying to Evyatar. Feed him. It’s cruelty beyond words."
David's sister, Yeela, said at the rally, “Last night, we saw our brother deliberately and cynically starved in a Hamas dungeon. They used him as a live subject in a grotesque hunger campaign.”