Videos of emaciated Israeli hostages — who were seized in the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre of over 1200 Israelis — surfaced on Friday, pointing out the irony of world criticism of Israel for allegedly starving Gazans while Islamist terror groups make no bones about starving their victims.
Footage of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski was released by Islamic Jihad and Hamas, showing their skeletal condition.
For the rest of my life, I will judge the NGOs, media outlets, and governments around the world that gave this demonic behavior by Hamas a pass or turned a blind eye.
If Israel has to be alone in the face of this Islamist death cult, so be it. I stand with Israel. #EvyatarDavid pic.twitter.com/PeHpVD6fx0
— Sia Kordestani (@SiaKordestani) August 1, 2025
Ask yourself why Hamas released the photos of Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, who are actually starving, right after a big news cycle about food not getting into Gaza. They did it as a show of power, proof that the media, the influencers on the Left, and now many on the Right… pic.twitter.com/nV2VPx7sVm
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) August 1, 2025
The New York Times will probably tell you this is a starving Palestinian.
It is in fact Evyatar David, an Israeli held hostage for almost two years.
Palestinian terrorists have just released a video of Evyatar. pic.twitter.com/C9ihZVH4Gp
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) August 1, 2025
A real starving person in Gaza.
Palestinian terrorists have released a gruesome video of Evyatar David. An Israeli hostage who's been tortured for almost 2 years.
Share this photo with every media outlet there is. And watch them still not cover it. pic.twitter.com/41jHGwqInK
— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) August 1, 2025
Hamas releases chilling video of hostage Evyatar David appearing skeletal and starved after 664 days in captivity. pic.twitter.com/YTNLzCwpPh
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) August 1, 2025
The video triggered fury from a number who immediately drew comparisons between the way Islamist terror groups actually treat their hostages and the way they try to claim Israel treats their civilians.
“This isn’t just heartbreaking; it is a crime against everything decent left in this world,” said Amjad Taha, a United Arab Emirates-based strategist and political analyst who led the first independent youth delegation to Israel after the signing of the Abraham Accords.
“A hostage in Gaza, tortured and starved by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, was filmed in agony,” he continued. “If you can watch that footage and still call it ‘resistance,’ then you’ve buried your humanity long ago. This is not a liberation movement; it is a cult of cruelty. Islamists don’t build nations. They build cages, graves, and propaganda. This is not justice. It is modern-day Nazism, with the camera rolling like they were proud of it, while the United Nations stays silent, too afraid to speak. This is not just evil. It is a performance of evil, endorsed by silence, applauded by cowards, and excused by fake activists. Shame on every self-righteous fool who celebrates this. Shame on every mouth that dares to call it ‘freedom.’ And shame on the UN for being too scared, too compromised, or too useless to speak the damn truth.”
May God cradle his shattered family in Israel with strength and mercy. This isn’t just heartbreaking; it is a crime against everything decent left in this world. A hostage in Gaza, tortured and starved by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, was filmed in agony. If you can watch… pic.twitter.com/ZjqAImC2vS
— Amjad Taha أمجد طه (@amjadt25) July 31, 2025
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman noted, ‘This is what ‘starving’ looks like — Israeli hostage held by Hamas named Evyatar David. I haven’t seen a single picture of a Palestinian adult who looks anything like this (and, believe me, the @nytimes and other anti-Israel outlets are desperately looking for such a picture).”
This is what “starving” looks like — Israeli hostage held by Hamas named Evyatar David. I haven’t seen a single picture of a Palestinian adult who looks anything like this (and, believe me, the @nytimes and other anti-Israel outlets are desperately looking for such a picture). pic.twitter.com/6B09EyGdun
— David M Friedman (@DavidM_Friedman) August 1, 2025
Braslavski’s family issued a statement saying, “People are speaking a lot about what is happening in Gaza, about the hunger, and I ask all those who are speaking about hunger: Did you see our Rom? He doesn’t receive food, and he doesn’t receive medicine. He is simply forgotten there. They managed to break Rom. Even the most resilient person has their breaking point.”
“I know how many beatings he is taking,” his mother told Ynet News. “I know because Rom doesn’t cry. If he cries, it is because they are abusing him. Look at him. Thin, limp, crying.”
In addition to starving Evyatar David, Hamas also tortured him by bringing him to the site to watch the release of the three hostages — Omar Wenkert, Omar Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen — in February.