Evyatar David

Evyatar David is an Israeli man who was kidnapped during the Nova music festival massacre of the October 7 attacks, and was held as a hostage by Hamas until October 13, 2025, when he was released as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange.

Background

Evyatar David was born on December 24, 2000, to Avishai and Galia David. He is from Kfar Saba. He has a brother Ilay, and a sister Yeela.

Kidnapping David spent October 6, with his family before he headed out with friends to attend the Nova festival near Re'im. He was taken with his childhood best friend Guy Gilboa-Dalal. His family saw videos around about 2pm that had been sent to them showing David being led away with his hand tied by Hamas militants.

In March 2025 it was reported that David and Gilboa-Dalal were being held with their hands and feet tied, bags over their heads, and fed very little in complete darkness, which makes it difficult to know what they are eating. They receive one shower a month with a bucket of water. David does not have his glasses and is unable to see well.

Starvation

In August 2025, on the day that coincided with the Jewish commemoration day of Tisha B'Av, Hamas released footage of David showing him in an severely emaciated state and forced to dig his own grave. Pale and sallow, David stated that he had not eaten in days and received little water to drink. The video was juxtaposed by footage of emaciated Gazan children. A similar video was released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad depicting hostage Rom Braslavski.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and David's family members said that the video was proof that the hostages were being deliberately malnourished by Hamas. David's family stated that Hamas were attempting to exploit the humanitarian crisis in Gaza for propaganda purposes, and accused Hamas of purposefully restricting or diverting humanitarian aid into Gaza. David's family said that footage from the released video, such as the "large" arm of a Hamas fighter handing David a can of food, show that Hamas members are well fed amid the Gaza famine. In a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Hamas stated that the hostages "are experiencing the same conditions as the people of Gaza" who faced chronic food shortages and restrictions of aid amid Israel's 2023 blockade of the Gaza Strip. The video led to international outcry and sparked protests in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Reactions US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance meet with David's family and other family and hostages in September 2025.

David's family compared it to the Holocaust, referring to him as a muselmann. They said his life was in "immediate danger", and that he had been "deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’ tunnels in Gaza". They also describing him as "a living skeleton, buried alive." The Israeli foreign ministry also mentioned the contrast in a tweet.

The video was also condemned by several world leaders: – High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said that the video exposes "the barbarity" of Hamas, calling for them to disarm and end its rule in Gaza.

The American Jewish Committee took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times which showed side by side photos of David before his kidnapping and a still from the video, beneath the caption "Kidnapped. Starved." British singer Jessie J shared stills from the video of David on her Instagram account, calling them heart breaking and stated "To see the past become present is a horror. Never Again. Again"

Columnist Aviya Kushner wrote in The Forward that there is a stark difference between portrayals of the video in Israeli and American media. Israeli media shows the full video, while American media shows selectively-picked stills.

Release efforts

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum called on Netanyahu and the government to "expedite the negotiations and bring about the immediate return of all the hostages" when David appeared in the Hamas video in February 2025. Netanyahu spoke with the regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross and "asked for his involvement in the immediate providing of food and medical care to our hostages".

Ilay and Yeela David, along with former hostages Ohad and Raz Ben Ami, met with President Trump and other administration officials in September 2025. During the meeting, Trump pledged his support and commitment to bring the hostages home. Galia David and other relatives of hostages also met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to reenforce the priority of freeing the hostages in any discussions.

Release As part of the Gaza Peace Plan, he was released on October 13, 2025. Prior to his release David was one of many hostages who were able to video call family members while still being held by Hamas. David and Gilboa-Dalal were reunited after their release at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, after being separated and held separately for the last two months as hostages.