"Family of Israeli captive in Gaza condemns alleged propaganda following the latest video release by Hamas, labeling it as inappropriate and disgraceful"
In the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Islamic movements Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad continue to hold several hostages, including Evyatar David. A new video of Evyatar, published by Hamas on August 2, 2022, has renewed the debate in Israel about the need for a negotiated agreement between the government and Hamas to secure the release of all hostages.
The video, which lasts nearly 5 minutes, shows Evyatar appearing as a "living skeleton, buried alive" in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. The staging aims to draw a parallel with the current humanitarian situation in Gaza. The video also uses imagery such as an hourglass to emphasize the need for a solution as soon as possible.
The publication of this video, along with another video by Palestinian Islamic Jihad since Thursday, has caused outrage in Israel. The family of Evyatar David, in their statement on Saturday, believes that he has only a few days left to live in his current state. They describe him as being "forced to witness his own starvation in the tunnels of Hamas in Gaza."
The family's concerns are shared by the international community, with calls for the immediate release of the hostages continuing to persist. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Israeli and U.S. officials, are working on a broader comprehensive framework aiming for the release of all hostages held by Hamas. This framework would also include the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
However, Hamas has conditioned further negotiation progress on significant humanitarian aid entering Gaza, demanding hundreds of aid trucks daily before continuing talks. The group has reiterated that it will not disarm before the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, raising a major obstacle to demilitarization demands.
Despite these challenges, efforts to achieve a full Gaza-wide deal involving the release of all hostages and Hamas disarmament are advancing. U.S. envoy Witkoff’s recent visits to Tel Aviv involve supporting hostage families and pushing for urgent ceasefire discussions alongside negotiations for hostage releases.
Out of the 251 people abducted during the terrorist attack on October 7, 49 remain hostages in Gaza. The Israeli government is currently engaged in discussions about a potential negotiated agreement with Hamas to secure the release of all hostages. The international community continues to watch this situation closely, hoping for a swift and peaceful resolution.
- The international community, including the U.S. envoy, is pushing for a negotiated agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas, aiming to address the ongoing politics in the Gaza Strip, which involves not only the release of hostages like Evyatar David, but also the disarmament of Hamas and the resolution of the general-news issue concerning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
- In addition to the ongoing debate about the need for a negotiated agreement to secure the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, the crime-and-justice aspect of the situation is becoming increasingly pressing, as the family of Evyatar David, along with the international community, expresses concern about his deteriorating health and demands immediate action towards his release.
