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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

‘A shell of himself,’ ‘This is starvation’: Ex-hostage, leaders appalled by captive’s video

2025-08-03

Responding to this story from yesterday. Political emoting snipped.

[IsraelTimes] Tal Shoham, who was in tunnel with Evyatar David, says terrorists holding him have A/C, cable TV and plenty of stolen food; Herzog: ‘Silence is not an option’

Former hostages and Israeli leaders reacted with shock and outrage Saturday night to new footage issued by terror groups of emaciated Israeli captives held in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
’s tunnels, as politicians accused Hamas
Hamas

..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
of being the true culprit behind the hunger crisis in the enclave.

Former hostage Tal Shoham said he had been held with Evyatar David and other captives in the tunnel where David was seen in a video released by Hamas, and that off-camera, faceless myrmidons were enjoying air conditioning, cable television and "plenty of food" stolen from aid deliveries.

The footage of David, a clip of which his family approved for publication on Saturday, came after Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
released similarly harrowing propaganda footage of hostage Rom Braslavski. The clip of David showed him to be skeletal and digging what he said he feared was his grave.

Shoham spoke with Channel 12 as Israel accused Hamas of starving both the hostages and Gaza’s civilians, amid mounting international criticism of Israel over the humanitarian crisis in the Strip. Meanwhile,
...back at the saloon, Butch got the bill for the damage caused by the fist fight, the mirror broken in the shootout, and drinks for everyone......
some members of the opposition assailed the government for failing to secure the hostages’ release.

’SHOCKED TO THE DEPTHS OF MY SOUL’
Shoham, who was released in February as part of the last ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas, said he had been held together with hostages David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, as well as fellow former hostage Omer Wenkert, in the tunnel that could be seen in the Hamas footage.

Shoham said Gilboa-Dalal was likely standing behind a blanket seen in the video that the Hamas captors had put up as a curtain.

"Behind the curtain they’ve put up, which is just one of the blankets we used, apparently Guy Gilboa-Dalal is standing or sitting, because they don’t let them go to a different tunnel," said Shoham when asked what the video didn’t show.

"And right behind the cameraman, there’s an iron door, and a well-lit room, with air conditioners and a group of faceless myrmidons who sit and sleep there. They have cable TV; they have plenty of food — food they have stolen from the humanitarian supplies that Israel sent in for a very long time," he said. "We could see that they were well fed, that they lacked for nothing. They also bragged about having stolen it, that they had months of supplies in that tunnel and all their tunnels."

Shoham said his captors’ weight appeared to remain stable even as he lost 30 kilograms (66 pounds) in captivity: "We didn’t see them losing even a kilo."

Shoham said he was "shocked to the depths of my soul" to see David’s condition in the new footage. "He is broken mentally, emotionally. I can’t see now any of the joy of life that he had managed to retain in his eyes," said Shoham. "Really, it’s a shell of the Evyatar I knew."

He said David was doubtlessly digging the ostensible grave in the clip on the orders of his Hamas captors, "but I can see that he believes it. He really believes that [he and Gilboa-Dalal] will end their life there."

Shoham also recalled that Hamas had at one point filmed himself, Wenkert, David and Gilboa-Dalal being fed generously in a propaganda video shot shortly before he and Wenkert were released.

Another video later showed David and Gilboa-Dalal pleading for release while being forced to watch the propaganda ceremony where Shoham and Wenkert were handed over to the Red Thingy.

Appealing to his former cellmates, Shoham said: "Hold on... I want to believe that the government will do the right thing very soon, free you, make a deal." He also expressed hope that Hamas could be pressured "to give you food, because there’s food meters away."

"Do everything you can to hold on," said Shoham, "so that we can embrace you both at home, God-willing, soon."

’THIS IS WHAT STARVATION LOOKS LIKE’
Writing in several languages, including Hebrew, English, Arabic and French, President Isaac Herzog accused Hamas of starving the hostages and the people of Gaza by "looting aid and blocking humanitarian deliveries, which Israel has worked with its international partners to increase.

"Now Hamas spreads lies and libels, blaming Israel to exploit global compassion," said Herzog on X. "Hamas rejoices as it succeeds in distracting the world from its own crimes against humanity."

"The faces of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski say it all. Forced to dig their own graves. Tormented with execution. Starved, tortured, wasting away," wrote Herzog. "This is pure cruelty. I urge world leaders: Demand the hostages’ release. Ensure aid reaches civilians — not terrorists. This is a test of humanity. Silence is not an option."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he’d spoken at length to the hostages’ families and "expressed to them my deep shock over the horrific footage." He said he "told them in the clearest terms [that] we are continuing our efforts to bring back all the hostages — persistently, resolutely, and tirelessly.

"Hamas’s cruelty knows no bounds. While the State of Israel allows humanitarian aid

into Gaza, Hamas faceless myrmidons deliberately starve our hostages, documenting them in a cynical, humiliating, and malicious way. They are also starving the residents of Gaza — deliberately. They prevent them from receiving aid, then lie to the world and conduct a false propaganda campaign against Israel. I call on all the nations of the world — stand up against this Nazi-like abuse. Do not stand idly by. This is a moral test."

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and fellow opposition party leaders demand global condemnation of Gaza’s terror groups for their treatment of the hostages they have held for the last 666 days.

Posted by:trailing wife

#1 World media ignores horror of hostage videos, highlights Gaza suffering

Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-08-03 02:01

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