As reports and criticism mount over the levels of hunger being experienced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee on Wednesday published footage and images of what he said are Hamas terrorists in Gaza tunnels enjoying fresh produce and a meal, while those above ground experience hunger and food scarcity.
In the video, terrorists in a tunnel are seen holding up to the camera fresh mangoes, grapes, and bananas, appearing to celebrate.
Another image shows terrorists sitting down for a meal, and another shows two holding up a fruit platter.
It is unclear exactly when the footage and photos were taken.
“While Hamas’s leaders accuse Israel of the lie of starvation, the clips show the organization’s members boasting about their meals inside the tunnels,” Adraee said in the post, adding, “It should be noted that the food items seen in these clips were not included in the humanitarian aid convoys to the Gaza Strip.”
“Once again, the blatant disregard of Hamas saboteurs for the suffering of the population is evident. This organization, which promotes lies to the world about alleged starvation, mocks the destruction it has inflicted on the sector’s residents,” he continued.
“This is the truth. These saboteurs are not heroes, but thieves who care about themselves at your expense and hide in the tunnels out of fear of the consequences of their actions,” he said, addressing the people of Gaza.
In recent days, reports have mounted over the increasingly dire levels of food insecurity and malnutrition in the Strip, which has reportedly caused dozens of deaths.
Hamas’s health ministry on Tuesday said that hospitals in Gaza had recorded 15 deaths, including four children, “due to famine and malnutrition” in the previous 24 hours, adding that it brought the total number of cases since the beginning of the war to 101, “including 80 children.” The figures cannot be independently verified.
“Infants under one year of age suffer from a lack of milk, which leads to a significant decrease in their weight and a decrease in their immunity that makes them vulnerable to diseases,” said Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital.
AFP and several other news outlets published graphic pictures of Palestinian youth Abdul Jawad al-Ghalban, 14, who AFP said died of starvation, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
In addition, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion.
Israel quickly dismissed the claims of famine, saying that some 950 trucks’ worth of supplies are waiting to be picked up by the UN from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.
A senior Israeli security official said Tuesday that the military had not identified famine, while stressing that actions need to be taken to “stabilize the humanitarian situation.”
Regarding the famine claims, the official said that Hamas was taking advantage of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and carrying out a propaganda campaign as part of a pressure tactic amid the ongoing hostage negotiations. “This is a cynical and timed move aimed at creating international pressure on Israel,” the official said.
The war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacres, during which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages back to Gaza.
In the ensuing war, some 58,000 people in Gaza have been killed, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Hamas casualty figures cannot be verified and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.