Overview

• Hamas released three recent propaganda videos showing severely underweight hostages in Gaza tunnels, including 24-year-old Evyatar David digging his own grave.
• Medical experts estimate David has lost nearly half his body weight, falling to about 40–45 kilograms since his abduction at the October 7, 2023 Nova festival attack.
• Relatives such as Ilay David and Kobi Kalfon have led public demonstrations and direct appeals to Israeli and international leaders to accelerate hostage-swap negotiations or mount a rescue operation.
• The Israeli Army warns that of the 49 captives still held by Hamas, only 22 are believed to be alive, underscoring growing fears over the remaining hostages’ survival.
• Global condemnation has intensified, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz denouncing Hamas’s treatment of captives and calling for an end to its rule in the Gaza Strip.