Famine is here: Gaza starvation crisis deepens as Hamas releases video of emaciated Israeli hostage
UN warns of unfolding famine as hostage’s family says Hamas is using hunger as a weapon
New Delhi: As food supplies in Gaza dwindle and UN-backed experts warn that famine is no longer a looming threat but a present reality, Hamas has released a chilling video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David, skeletal, barely conscious, and digging what he called his “own grave.”
The video, released on Friday, has triggered global outrage, not only over the condition of the 24-year-old but also the wider humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, where both civilians and captives are enduring extreme deprivation.
“I haven’t eaten for days… I barely got drinking water,” David says in a faint voice, shown in a dimly lit tunnel. “Every day my body becomes weaker. I’m walking directly to my grave.”
His family has accused Hamas of using starvation as a deliberate tactic. “We are witnessing a living skeleton buried alive,” they said, calling it part of a cynical campaign that exploits both hostages and starving Palestinians for propaganda.
The footage follows weeks of warnings from aid agencies about deteriorating food security in Gaza. UN experts say the "worst-case scenario of famine" is now taking shape, with limited humanitarian aid making it past border crossings and airdrops proving grossly inadequate.
In recent weeks, Hamas has referenced Gaza’s starvation in hostage videos, seemingly to draw a parallel between the plight of Palestinian civilians and Israeli captives. The latest footage of David comes just a day after Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video of another hostage, Rom Braslavski.
Evyatar David was among 251 people abducted during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Nearly two years later, 49 hostages are still believed to be held.
Rallies erupted in Tel Aviv following the video’s release, with families of hostages demanding immediate international intervention. “Our brothers are turning into skin and bones,” said Einav Zangauker, whose son is also held in Gaza.
Ceasefire negotiations remain stalled. Israel demands the unconditional release of all hostages, while Hamas refuses to disarm without recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state.
US envoy Steve Witkoff, after meeting hostage families, claimed the Trump team could broker a comprehensive deal. “No more piecemeal arrangements,” he said.
David’s family has pleaded for the humanitarian aid entering Gaza to also reach hostages. “The thought of his hunger and pain haunts my every moment,” said his brother Ilay.
As Gaza starves, so do the captives. Both have become human symbols of a war with no end in sight.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
