The family of Israeli hostage Evyatar David held by Hamas in Gaza has accused the group of deliberately starving him as part of a “propaganda campaign”.
The family statement on Saturday came a day after Hamas released a video showing an emaciated Mr David in a narrow concrete tunnel.
Mr David, 24, has been in captivity since his seizure by Hamas at a music festival in southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
“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,” the family statement added.
The hostage’s family also urged the Israeli government and the world community to do “everything possible to save Evyatar”.
In the video released by Hamas, Mr David is heard saying “I haven’t eaten for days… I barely got drinking water” and is seen digging what he says will be his own grave.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to the families of Mr David and another hostage, Rom Braslavski, on Saturday.
US envoy Steve Witkoff also met with families of some hostages on Saturday.
In the evening, thousands turned out at a demonstration in Tel Aviv in support of their release.
Mr David is one of 49 hostages who Israel says are still being held in Gaza. This includes 27 hostages who are believed to be dead.
Israel has been accused by aid agencies of pushing Gaza towards famine by weaponising food in its war against Hamas – an allegation it denies.
Israel has said there is “no starvation” and it is not imposing restrictions on aid entering Gaza – claims rejected by its close allies in Europe, the UN and other agencies active in the Strip.
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was “continuing the series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip”.
It said that 90 aid packages containing food for residents in southern and northern Gaza had been airdropped in the past few hours as part of co-operation between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France and Germany.
Source:BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma