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Kidnapping of Evyatar David
Gaza war hostage case (2023 – present) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Evyatar David (Hebrew: אביתר דוד) is an Israeli who was kidnapped during the Nova music festival massacre of the October 7 attacks, and has been held as a hostage by Hamas since then.
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Evyatar David
Evyatar David was born on December 24, 2000 to Avishai and Galia David.[1][2] He is from Kfar Saba.[3] He has a brother Ilay, and a sister Yaela.[2]
Kidnapping
David was kidnapped from the Nova festival during the October 7 attacks.[3] He reported being shot at and trying to escape by vehicle, before the connection was lost.[4] He was taken with his childhood best friend Guy Gilboa-Dalal.[5] The two men were spotted in a video released by Hamas, later in the day of the attack, tied up in a tunnel.[6]
Captivity
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David and Gilboa-Dalal, were taken on February 22, 2025 to watch the release of three other hostages, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert, after 505 days. David and Gilboa-Dalal were not freed and remained as hostages. The two men were shown in a video released by Hamas which showcased the men sitting in a vehicle near the handover ceremony, and shown covering the faces, while looking dismayed and pleading with viewers to free and save them.[7] In March 2025 their families reported that the two are held with their hands and feet tied, bags over their heads, and fed very little in complete darkness, which makes it difficult to know what they are eating. They receive one shower a month with a bucket of water. David does not have his glasses and is unable to see well.[8]
Starvation
Hamas released footage of David in August 2025, showing him in an severely emaciated state and forced to dig his own grave. He stated that he had not eaten in days and received little water to drink. A similar video was released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad depicting hostage Rom Braslavski.[9][10] Hamas claimed the hostages eat the same food as the militant group's members, but the video shows a Hamas member handing David a can of food. The captor's arm is much larger than David's, showing the former is well-fed. Other hostages noted that Hamas members would feast next door to where they were being held, and they could smell the food.[11]
Reactions to starvation
David's family compared it to the Holocaust, referring to him as a muselmann. They said his life was in "immediate danger", and that he had been "deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’ tunnels in Gaza". They also describing him as "a living skeleton, buried alive."[9] In an interview with Geoff Bennett on PBS NewsHour, David's cousin, Matan Eshet, pointed out that the Hamas captor had a much larger hand and arm than David, showing the former is well-fed. Eshet continued that the captor also is tanned, showing he has been outside regularly.[12] The Israeli foreign ministry also mentioned the contrast in a tweet.[13]
The video was also condemned by several world leaders:
European Union – High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said that the video exposes "the barbarity" of Hamas, calling for them to disarm and end its rule in Gaza.[9]
France – President Emmanuel Macron called it "abject cruelty, an unlimited inhumanity", which "embodies Hamas".[9]
Germany – Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was "appalled" by the footage. "Hamas is torturing hostages, terrorising Israel, and using Gaza’s population as a human shield."[9]
ICRC – The organization stated it was "appalled" and that this is "stark evidence of the life-threatening conditions in which the hostages are being held". They called for access to the hostages to assess their condition, provide medical support, as well as contact with their families.[10]
Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed "profound shock" and told hostage families that the govern "will continue constantly and relentlessly" seek their release.[10]
United Kingdom – Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that "images of hostages being paraded for propaganda are sickening" and the hostages must be released "unconditionally".[10]
United States – President Donald Trump responded to a question at a press conference, saying that the video was "horrible" and he hoped more people would see it.[14][15]
Columnist Aviya Kushner wrote in The Forward that there is a stark difference between portrayals of the video in Israeli and American media. Israeli media shows the full video, while American media shows selectively-picked stills.[16]
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Release efforts
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At a United Nations Security Council discussion on the hostage crisis, Ilay David spoke about his brother's conditions and criticized the council for their silence, and what he views as complicity in the continued crisis.[17] Netanyahu spoke with the regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross and "asked for his involvement in the immediate providing of food and medical care to our hostages".[9]
After the February 2025 video release the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, called upon Netanyahu and Trump to come to an agreement to bring all hostages home, stating that "Every second counts" while condemning Hamas for their act of "psychological torture".[18]
The Israeli government placed an advertisement photograph of David on a billboard in Times Square, with the captions "Hamas is starving the Israeli hostages" and "Ignored by the media too busy echoing Hamas propaganda". The display was intended to highlight the ongoing Gaza war hostage crisis, in light of allegations of famine in Gaza, which Israel Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis labelled a blood libel.[19] The American Jewish Committee took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times which showed side by side photos of David before his kidnapping and a still from the video, beneath the caption "Kidnapped. Starved."[20][non-primary source needed]
British singer Jessie J shared stills from the video of David on her Instagram account, calling them heart breaking and stated "To see the past become present is a horror. Never Again. Again"[21]
Ilay and Yeela David, along with former hostages Ohad and Raz Ben Ami, met with President Trump and other administration officials in September 2025. During the meeting, Trump pledged his support and commitment to bring the hostages home. Galia David and other relatives of hostages also met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to reenforce the priority of freeing the hostages in any discussions.[22]
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References
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