The family of Israeli hostage Eviatar David, who is being held captive by Hamas, has approved the release of a shocking video that shows the young man, pale and extremely thin, talking in a low voice about days without food and digging a hole he fears is his own grave.

The family claims that David is deliberately starving himself in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza.

The video was released a day after Hamas released the first part of the footage, and the family later on Saturday allowed additional footage to be shown. The video shows David in a narrow tunnel, in which he crosses out the days on a calendar on the wall, unshaven, neglected and in a much worse physical condition than in the previous video released in February, during the previous truce and exchange of hostages, the Times of Israel reports.

At one point in the video, David says:

"Today is July 27th, noon. I don't know what I'm going to eat. I haven't eaten for several days".

As he shows the can, he says,"This can is for two days. The whole can for two days, so I don't die."

At the end of the video, David announces that he is digging the grave where he believes he will be buried:

"This is the grave I think I'm going to be buried in. Time is running out. You're the only one who can stop this."

The video was released at the moment when the special US envoy Steve Witkoff visited the Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where the families of the kidnapped and hundreds of citizens gathered.

Witkoff said the US supports a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release agreement, and will no longer support"partial deals". He also stressed that Washington opposes the escalation of the conflict in Gaza.

Statement by the family of the hostage

A statement from David's family reads:

"We are forced to watch as our beloved son and brother Eviatar becomes a living skeleton, a victim of a gruesome game of starvation in the Hamas tunnels. He has only a few days left to live unless something is done urgently."

The hostage addresses the Prime Minister of Israel

The family accused Hamas of using Eviatar as a "living experiment in the propaganda campaign of hunger", demanding that humanitarian aid entering Gaza also reach the hostages.

"Our Evjatar is starving for the propaganda purposes of the terrorist organization Hamas. There is no limit to the pain that Hamas inflicts on hostages and civilians in Gaza."

An Israeli government official told Channel 12 that Hamas is not short of food and that the hostages are being starved on purpose.

"We know from the testimony of the freed hostages and from our own sources that the kidnappers do not appear to be starving hostages. This is planned starvation – not only as a means of torturing the hostages, but also their families and the public."

Hamas calls the hostages "captives", and in this latest video Eviatar David directly addresses the Israeli Prime Minister:

"Prime Minister Netanyahu, you have completely abandoned me. You should be taking care of me and all the hostages held by the enemy".

The release of the video comes as the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations warn of increasing hunger in Gaza, while Israeli authorities dismiss such claims as Hamas propaganda. However, Evjatar David's shocking confession further agitated the Israeli public and caused a new wave of protests and pressure on the government to reach an agreement on the release of the hostages.