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Ilay David, the brother of 22-year-old hostage Evyatar David, delivered an emotional plea to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, calling for urgent international action after a horrific new video showed his emaciated brother being forced to dig his own grave inside a Hamas tunnel.
The Security Council session was requested by Israel and comes as the country stands on the verge of a full annexation of Gaza — a move prompted by the collapse of ceasefire talks and the release of disturbing images of starving hostages.
Evyatar David was abducted from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2024. In the newly received footage, he appears frail — reduced to just 90 pounds — and is seen struggling to speak.
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Members of the United Nations Security Council listen as Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, and holds up a photo of his brother in captivity as he speaks during a meeting called by Israel. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Holding up a still from the video, Ilay David described a haunting visual: “As my younger brother, a living skeleton, was forced to speak and dig his grave, the chubby and well-fed hand of a Hamas terrorist entered the frame. Suddenly, Hamas confirmed what we have known for months — the terrorists have plenty of food. The only ones starving in Hamas’ tunnels are the hostages: my brother, Guy, and the [49] others.”
“My mother and I could not bring ourselves to watch it,” he said, speaking remotely via Zoom, “But my father and sister did. And now the images haunt them.”
Citing testimony from former hostages — including Tal Shoham, whose account was first published by Digital — David said the terrorists remain in nearby rooms while deliberately starving captives as part of a “sick and twisted propaganda campaign.”
“This is a humanitarian crisis — the crisis of the hostages — that is not being discussed here,” he said. “Not in the Security Council, and not in other U.N. forums. The very soul of humanity is being scarred by Hamas’s barbaric actions.”
Protesters rallied near the United Nations, demanding immediate medical care and the release of hostages held by Hamas. (Yoav Ginsburg/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
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The meeting of the U.N. Security Council was convened following the release of the latest hostage video. Israel believes that as few as 20 hostages remain alive in Hamas captivity — many in critical condition, with only days left to live.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who attended the session in New York, emphasized ahead of the meeting that while Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza, Hamas is deliberately starving the hostages.
“Evyatar was forced to dig his own grave. This is satanic,” he said. “These are evil crimes — like those committed by the Nazis and ISIS.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar (R) and Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon (L) speak to journalists ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters on August 5, 2025 in New York (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Sa’ar also warned that recent moves by several nations to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state have emboldened Hamas and undermined negotiations.
“They gave Hamas free gifts and an incentive to continue this war,” he said. “They directly assassinated the hostage deal and ceasefire. These countries prolonged the war.”
Ilay David ended his address with a desperate appeal: “We, the family of Evyatar, refuse to give up hope. We are weeping, we are suffering, but we are also fighting with every fiber of our being. We will not give up until we see him back home — until my mother and father can hug him again.”
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“To the leaders of the world, to every member of this Council, and to the global community: Your silence in the face of this monstrous cruelty is complicity. I urge you — do not let them die. Act now, before it’s too late. Save Evyatar David. Bring my little brother home.”
When asked by reporters at the White House on Tuesday if he had seen the Hamas video of Evyatar David, President Donald Trump said he had, calling it “horrible.”
