Hamas shared propaganda images of an emaciated Israeli hostage. Israel denies starving Gaza and continues the fight “unabated.”
Hamas shared the video on Friday, shortly after the visit of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to Gaza. Israeli media reports the images show Evyatar David, who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023. The man is emaciated and is in a narrow concrete tunnel.
The hostages “eat what we eat,” is the message from Hamas with the images. “It is the occupying government that has decided to starve them.” The group refers to the Israeli army. According to Israel, 22 hostages are still alive. The bodies of 27 deceased hostages are also in Gaza.
The chief of staff of the Israeli army, Eyal Zamir, responded on Saturday during a visit to Gaza that the war “continues unabated” until the hostages are released. He hinted at a possible agreement that might be concluded in the coming days, in which the hostages would be released. It is not clear whether such a deal is realistic. Hamas wants a full ceasefire and considers the hostages as “collateral.” On Saturday, the movement said it would not lay down arms until there is a Palestinian state.
During his visit to Gaza, Zamir denied that there is a hunger crisis in Gaza. “Hamas is responsible for the death and suffering of the residents of the Gaza Strip,” he said. According to Zamir, “a mendacious campaign” is being waged against Israel to accuse the army, “a moral army,” of war crimes.
Airdrops over Gaza, for lack of better options
The hunger crisis in Gaza is widely recognized internationally. Several countries have started dropping aid over the area. The Netherlands also announced on Friday that it would participate in an international action to provide aid by air.
Minister Caspar Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs) said that it is an action for lack of better options. Aid organizations also emphasize that air aid is very inefficient compared to aid by land. Hundreds of trucks with aid are ready at the border with Gaza, but most are not allowed into the area by Israel.
U.S. envoy Witkoff visited a distribution point of the controversial aid organization Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Friday, together with the American ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. Huckabee called the work of the GHF “an incredible achievement.”
In reality, far less aid enters Gaza through the GHF than previously through international aid organizations. Moreover, the distribution is much more violent. According to the UN, 859 Palestinians have already been killed at a center of the GHF.
Protest against Israeli action is growing
Both in Israel and abroad, the protest against the Israeli action and the resulting famine is growing. Two prominent Israeli rights groups accused their government of genocide in Gaza for the first time this week.
In the Netherlands, thousands of activists gathered at stations on Thursday, where they made noise with pans and spoons to draw attention. At the Israeli embassy in The Hague, demonstrators read out the names of the 64,000 victims of the war in Gaza.
At the diplomatic level, more and more countries are announcing that they will recognize Palestine as a state, such as France and Canada. The United Kingdom will also recognize the Palestinian state in September if Israel does not stop the conflict. But individual recognitions will not change much, said professor of administrative law Wim Voermans to NU.nl. “For that, all major countries must take that step, including the United States.”