As they do every Saturday night, thousands gathered in Tel Aviv to demand a deal for the release of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza and an end to the ongoing war.
Saturday marked 666 days since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault, and families say the urgency to reach a deal is growing by the day. Of the estimated 50 hostages still in Gaza, at least 20 are believed to be alive.
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Hamas propaganda clip featuring hostage Evyatar David screened at Hostage Sqaure, Tel Aviv
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
The latest rally in Hostages Square was marked by raw emotion and urgent appeals, following the release of two propaganda videos by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) showing hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski visibly gaunt and weakened in captivity.
Family members of the hostages spoke at the rally, including siblings of 24-year-old Evyatar David, whose deteriorating condition was seen in two videos released Friday and Saturday. In the footage, David appears severely emaciated, describing prolonged starvation and being forced to dig his own grave.
"Evyatar is a sweet, vibrant kid with the most beautiful and contagious smile in the world,” said his sister, Yeela David, who broke down in tears as she opened 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.”
The siblings also called attention to fellow hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal, who was previously reported to be held with Evyatar. “Israel and the international community must not stay silent,” they said. “Hamas’ starvation campaign is beyond cruel.”
Yeela continued, her voice shaking with emotion: “I’m tired of repeating this, but we call on the Israeli government, the people of Israel, the nations of the world and the president of the United States: do everything to save Evyatar, Guy and the rest of the living hostages from death. Make sure they receive medical care and food—now.”
Directing her words to her brother, she added: “Evyatar, my dear brother, Ilai, Mom, Dad and I love you so much and we’re torn apart by longing. Mom is broken, she can’t function. Dad hears your voice at night and can’t sleep. But Ilai and I are trying to hold it together. We are waiting for you. Waiting to heal with you. You will come back—I promise you.”
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Tens of thousands rally at Hostage Square, Tel Aviv in call for release of hostages held in Gaza
(Photo: Yair Palti)
Her brother Ilai followed with a speech in English, urging global action: “There is no limit to the cruelty being inflicted on him and the others. And there is no end to the unbearable pain of our family. We cry. We suffer. But hear me—we refuse to give up.”
“To world leaders, and to every human watching this: please, I beg you—act now. Before it’s too late.”
Omer Wenkert, a former hostage who was held with Evyatar in Hamas tunnels, also addressed the crowd. He described the shock of seeing David’s condition in the video, calling the footage horrifying and deeply personal.
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Former hostage Omer Wenkert addresses the crowd at Hostage Square, Tel Aviv
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Wenkert, greeted with chants of “hero,” said he spent 505 days in captivity—about 250 of them alongside David and Gilboa Dalal. He recalled the moment he saw the alert: Hamas had released a so-called “sign of life” from Evyatar.
“Really? A sign of life? How dare we even call it that,” he said, his voice rising with anger. “What we saw yesterday—those aren’t the signs of life. I was warned it would be hard to watch. But I thought, I’ve lived that, I’ve seen Evyatar, Guy and Tal wasting away. It won’t shake me like it does others.”
But it did. “The first thing I looked for were his eyes,” Wenkert said. “It was a video with no real words, but Evyatar didn’t need to say anything. His eyes told me everything—he was hurting, hungry, exhausted, weak inside and out, overcome with endless longing, and worst of all, paralyzed by the fear of being abandoned. I could see it: ‘Omer, help me. I’m alone.’ Abandoned. Abandoned without compassion, without warmth, without love or a kind word. No one caring for him. And I thought: are they even checking on him? Are they feeding him? Why does he look so utterly forsaken?”
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Hostages Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal seen in a Hamas propaganda video released in February 2025
His sadness quickly turned to fury. “I’m tired of seeing these images, of thinking these thoughts. 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.”
He said he rewatched the video and something shifted. “That’s when I understood the depth of this pain—it’s not just longing. It’s a need. Not a cliché, not a slogan chanted while waving flags. Yesterday, my family—my parents, my younger siblings, my partner—met a version of me I never wanted them to see: ‘Omer Wenkert, hostage edition.’ Emotionally numb, filled with rage, eyes cold and empty. A volcano of anger sealed off by an immovable boulder. The survival mode returned. My partner said, ‘Omer, I’m worried—you look like you did at the hospital two days after your release.’”
“In one moment, I was back there—with Evyatar and Guy. The mattress, the spoon, the plate I ate from. I know it sounds strange, but I saw a home. A horrible one. But we lived human lives in the most inhuman way. We were still people. We were a family. Now? In Evyatar’s eyes, I saw it. He’s forgetting that that wasn’t a real home. He’s forgetting what a real home is. So I went back there—to be with them.”
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Tens of thousands rally at Hostage Square, Tel Aviv in call for release of hostages held in Gaza
(Photo: Paulina Patimer)
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Tens of thousands rally at Hostage Square, Tel Aviv in call for release of hostages held in Gaza
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Choking back tears, he added, “Then I broke down. I realized that as long as they’re still in Gaza—I’ll never really leave. Just like yesterday, it will happen again. I’ll be pulled back in.”
“Enough. Enough. Enough!” he cried. “Look at Evyatar. His eyes tell our entire story—a cry for help. Just help! That’s what we all feel inside. So please—help him. Help him. Reach out to Evyatar, to Guy, to all of them. Don’t let them keep feeling abandoned.”
“Give me just 50 more heartbeats so I can feel alive again,” he pleaded. “Bring them all home—now.”
Ofir Braslavski, father of hostage Rom Braslavski, delivered an emotional address condemning the Israeli government for failing to secure his son’s release.
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Ofir Braslavski addresses the crowd at Hostage Square, Tel Aviv; Rom Braslavski seen in a Palestinian Islamic Jihad propaganda video
(Photo: Satview)
“My son Rom has been in Gaza for 666 days. He is a hero—and his country has abandoned him,” Braslavski said. “He is being abandoned every single day he’s not here. Two days ago, we all saw the price of that abandonment. I looked at my son and didn’t recognize him. Rom is starving for bread, thirsty for water, sick, physically broken and mentally crushed. My child is dying—I saw it with my own eyes, and so did the prime minister. He knows Rom’s condition. And yet he chooses, again and again, not to save him.”
Braslavski said PIJ, the group believed to be holding his son, had lost contact with the unit guarding him. “Ten days ago, we—the parents of Rom—moved from one circle of hell to another,” he said.
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Addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly, he continued: “You abandoned him. You sabotaged the negotiations. You invented the phased deal, the selective releases, the entire system of missed opportunities. Enough! My son and the other hostages are paying the price. Make the decision: end the war and bring them all back. No phases, no tricks, no gimmicks, no selection. We can’t breathe.”
He ended his speech with a chilling warning: “This looks like a second Holocaust. They are dying. They are wasting away. We must not stay silent.”
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Tens of thousands rally at Hostage Square, Tel Aviv in call for release of hostages held in Gaza
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Demonstrations calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza were held across the country Saturday night, including the weekly rally in Sha’ar HaNegev, a protest at the Karkur Junction and a gathering in Kfar Saba.
The renewed protests come amid a complete breakdown in negotiations with Hamas. While Israeli officials have said they are now prepared to discuss only a comprehensive deal, rather than phased or partial agreements, there is growing pessimism about the likelihood of progress. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff reiterated this position in a meeting with hostage families in Tel Aviv on Saturday morning. Still, a senior Israeli official acknowledged later in the day that a deal is currently not viable.
Hamas has declared that it will not agree to disarm as part of any deal, a key condition set by Prime Minister Netanyahu for ending the war. As talks remain frozen, Israeli officials are now discussing the possibility of expanding military operations in Gaza.
Adding to the tension, Hamas released two new videos over the weekend of hostage Evyatar David, while PIJ published footage Thursday of Rom Braslavski. The terror group claimed Braslavski's video was recorded before it lost contact with him and his captors. The latest video of David, cleared for publication by his family, shows him severely emaciated, highlighting his protruding bones and flipping through what appears to be a food diary from captivity. The handwritten log lists sparse entries like “lentils” or “no food.”
In the video, dated July 27, David says he sometimes goes days without eating. In a particularly disturbing moment, he is seen digging what he describes as his own grave inside a tunnel. “Every day that passes, my body gets weaker and thinner,” he says. “I am on my way to my death. I am digging my own grave where I might lie. Only you can stop this, so I can lie in a bed in my home.”