Palestinian group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) has released a chilling video of a 24-year-old Israeli hostage in which he is seen digging what he describes as his “own grave.” Evyatar David is among 49 hostages still held by Hamas who were captured during an attack on October 7, 2023, that reportedly killed 1,219 people in Israel and subsequently led to the Israel-Hamas war, which has led to over 60,000 deaths so far, as per Al Jazeera.
In the video, David appears visibly thin and barely able to speak. As he is seen using a shovel inside a confined underground tunnel, he says in Hebrew, “What I’m doing now is digging my own grave.”
Hamas released a video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David who’s been held for 667 days & shows clear signs of starvation.
At any moment, Hamas could release the hostages, surrender, & stop the fighting. Instead, it chooses to prolong suffering for both Israelis & Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/2WEVxj5vww
— Democratic Majority for Israel (@DemMaj4Israel) August 3, 2025
“Every day my body becomes weaker and weaker. I’m walking directly to my grave. There is the grave where I am going to be buried in. Time is running out to be released and be able to sleep in my bed with my family,” he further says before breaking down in front of the camera.
David, who has been in captivity for over 667 days, is also seen crossing off dates on a calendar. “I haven’t eaten for a few days in a row,” he says in a clip released on August 1. As a person off-camera hands him a can of beans, David says, “This can is for two days. This whole can is for two days, so that I don’t die. This is the grave I think I’m going to be buried in. Time is running out.”
How psychopathic is Hamas?
It forced starving hostage Evyatar David to DIG HIS OWN GRAVE for the cameras. pic.twitter.com/iMa404St4s
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) August 2, 2025
His family has allowed the circulation of the horrifying video for maximum impact. In a heart-wrenching statement, they said, “We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza — a living skeleton, buried alive,” as reported by Radar Online.
“The deliberate starvation of our son as part of a propaganda campaign is one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen. He is being starved purely to serve Hamas’s propaganda,” they added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also condemned the video. He said, “Hamas terrorists deliberately starve our hostages, documenting them in a cynical, humiliating, and malicious manner.”
He also ensured that the government is working “constantly and relentlessly” to secure the release of remaining hostages.
As David’s clip is going viral, it has ignited outrage both in Israel and worldwide. Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to demand immediate action by the government to negotiate the release of hostages.
