Al-Qassam Brigades release video of Israeli captive showing signs of starvation

By Nour Mahd Ali Abuaisha and Tarek Chouiref

GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL (AA) - Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades on Friday published a video of an Israeli captive in Gaza appearing gaunt and frail, saying the condition reflected Israel’s policy of starvation in the war-torn enclave.

The footage, shared on the group’s Telegram channel, showed the unidentified captive sitting on a bed in a narrow room, his ribs visibly protruding. Al-Qassam said the man “had been expecting release in a prisoner exchange.”

The video also included earlier scenes of the same captive with another Israeli captive, watching others being freed during a short-lived truce in January.

According to Hamas, Israel later failed to uphold the deal in March.

Captions in Arabic, English, and Hebrew read: “Our prisoners eat what we eat and drink what we drink.”

The group paired the images with clips of malnourished children in Gaza, underscoring what it described as Israel’s deliberate starvation strategy.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported Wednesday that 154 Palestinians, including 89 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.

Last week, the UN’s World Food Program warned that one-third of Gaza’s population had gone several days without eating, highlighting the scale of the catastrophe.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 60,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.