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Hamas: TEL AVIV — When Hamas released a video of Evyatar David, he looked so frail and emaciated that their father did not recognize his voice, the Israeli hostage’s brother said Monday.
David, now 24, was partying at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants kidnapped him and 250 others nationwide during their sweeping, terrorist attack that saw 1,200 killed.
Hamas prompted further international outcry this weekend when it posted footage of a markedly frail David alongside that of starving Palestinians — suffering from chronic food shortages under Israel’s military operation and intensified blockade — in what his family sees as an attempt to use him as a propaganda tool.
“It breaks my parents’ hearts,” his older brother, Ilay David, 28, on Monday told NBC News in Tel Aviv about Galia and Avishay David.
He said he can’t bring himself to watch the video, but his family has likened his brother’s physical condition to images from the Holocaust. “It looks like pictures we all know from history class 80 years ago,” said Ilay David, who before the attack worked as a youth counselor but now is focused full time on bringing his brother home.
The hostages were “being kept in a near-death situation,” Ilay David said, adding that his brother “can barely speak” and he was so weak that their father couldn’t recognize his voice.
He added that his brother “needs medical care right now, and if I am not able to speak about him, advocate for him, he may not survive.”
The widespread starvation now playing out in Gaza has killed at least 170 people, 90 of them children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. There are around 20 hostages believed still alive after almost three years in captivity, according the latest Israeli tally.
Among them is David, who his brother described as a “brilliant guitar player” with the “kindest soul I know.” Ilay David added. “I love him and he’s my best friend.”
Ilay David spoke out after President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, met with families of the hostages Saturday and emphasized the administration’s commitment to returning those still inside Gaza.
Hamas
Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke “at length” with David’s family Saturday night, expressing “deep shock” at the recordings released by Hamas, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement. He blamed Hamas for “deliberately starving” hostages and Palestinians by “preventing them from receiving aid.”
Almost 61,000 people have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign, according to Palestinian health officials. Recent international outcry about widespread malnutrition in the enclave has prompted Israel to pause fighting and let some aid in — but aid agencies say it’s not enough.
David’s brother blamed the terror group for using “him cynically in their own starvation campaign,” and calling it the “peak of cruelty.”
Ilay David said they are “worse than al Qaeda” and “worse than ISIS,” two of the major terrorist groups that have brought misery to the Middle East in recent decades.
David “still has faith, still has hope, that’s what holds him sure,” his brother said. “When he comes back — not if he comes back — we’re going to take care of him, support him and he will be greater than before.”
In a heartbreaking yet resilient story from the ongoing Gaza conflict, the family of one Israeli hostage shared how they struggled to recognize their loved one in a recent Hamas-released video. The man, visibly emaciated, appeared so weak that even his own father did not immediately identify him by his voice. His brother, speaking to reporters, described the emotional shock of seeing the footage — but also emphasized the family’s determination to remain hopeful for his safe return.
The hostage, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, has been held in Gaza for several months. In the video, he appeared frail and exhausted, his voice reduced to a faint whisper. “It wasn’t the brother I knew,” his sibling said. “But we believe he is still fighting to survive, and we are holding on to hope every single day.”
The positive aspect of this distressing development, according to the family, is that the video confirms he is alive. They see this as a sign that negotiations, humanitarian interventions, and international pressure can still bring him home. “As long as he’s breathing, we have a chance,” the brother said.
Israel’s hostage rescue teams and international mediators have been working to secure the release of those still in captivity. Human rights organizations have also renewed calls for immediate humanitarian access to all detainees, citing the clear signs of malnutrition and inadequate medical care visible in the video.
Security analysts say such footage can be a double-edged sword — intended by captors to display control, but also serving as proof of life that can strengthen the resolve of families and negotiators.
In communities across Israel, vigils and solidarity rallies continue. The family says they have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from strangers, both locally and abroad. Messages of encouragement, they say, are helping them endure what they call “the longest wait of our lives.”
For them, hope is more than a feeling — it’s an act of survival. And until the day they can hear his voice strong and clear again, they will not stop believing in his return.
Matt Bradley reported from Tel Aviv and Alexander Smith from London.