GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas Movement, released a video showing one of the Israeli captives in Gaza under the title: “The Occupation Government Has Decided to Starve Them.”
The footage shows an Israeli captive in a tunnel, visibly thin and frail from the famine imposed by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip.
The video opens with a clip from previous Al-Qassam footage showing former captives during past exchange deals. Among them is Abitar David, then in good health, watching his fellow captives being released in the last exchange.
The new video contrasts images of the now severely emaciated captive with stark scenes of Gaza’s starving children, highlighting the shared suffering between civilians under siege and the Israeli captives held in Gaza.
One scene shows the captive staring at a calendar marking the number of days spent in captivity, symbolizing the long ordeal and isolation from the outside world, without uttering a single word.
The footage also includes archived clips of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir declaring that “what should be sent to Gaza is bombs,” along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements about drastically limiting aid into the Strip.
In one shot, the captive is seen drinking water, juxtaposed with an image of a Palestinian child suffering from severe hunger due to the ban on baby formula entering Gaza.
The video ends with the message: “They eat what we eat and drink what we drink,” implying that the captives survive on the same bare-minimum sustenance as Gaza’s besieged population.
According to previous statements by Al-Qassam spokesperson Abu Obeida, Israeli captives will only be released under a comprehensive exchange deal, a demand Israel has refused, opting instead for military escalation to pressure Hamas.
The Al-Qassam Brigades had previously released several recordings of captured Israeli soldiers, featuring direct pleas to the Israeli government to secure their release and warnings that continued military operations would not bring them back alive.
Gaza is enduring the worst humanitarian crisis in its history, where extreme famine intertwines with an ongoing US-backed genocide waged by Israel since October 7, 2023.
The genocide has resulted in nearly 208,000 Palestinians killed or injured, with 159 deaths due to famine and malnutrition, including 90 children. Over two million people have been displaced, and 90% of Gaza’s buildings have been destroyed.
