This is What Starvation Actually Looks Like: Latest Hamas Hostage Video Exposes Propaganda Deception
[Take Action and Urge U.S. Leaders to Demand Hamas Surrender and Condemn Hostage Abuse]
The Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) is outraged by Hamas’s horrific psychological warfare video featuring hostage Evyatar David as a calculated act of torture, against Evyatar and against the hostage families. We also note that this video inadvertently exposes the propaganda deception that recently misled American institutions and leaders.
Hamas’s exploitation of human suffering for propaganda purposes represents the cruelest form of psychological warfare. Hostage families should not be subjected to watching their loved ones used as props in terrorist information campaigns. These videos constitute war crimes and should be condemned by every responsible media outlet and political leader.
“The complete breakdown of international law in this situation is staggering. Hamas has held hostages for over 600 days in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions,” said Robert Mayer, ICAN National Co-Chair. “Hamas has blatantly broadcast these war crimes to the world, and yet the International Committee of the Red Cross has failed to demand access or conduct welfare visits as required by international humanitarian law. The United Nations and international aid agencies have remained silent on Hamas’s systematic denial of basic rights to hostages, including adequate nutrition and medical care. These same organizations that regularly condemn Israel have ignored their legal obligations to protect hostages and ensure compliance with international humanitarian standards. The absence of accountability from international institutions has enabled Hamas to continue to broadcast these war crimes to the world with impunity.”
This video also provides a tragic comparison that should give pause to those who recently amplified Hamas’s fabricated starvation claims in The New York Times. Over the past week, prominent American leaders rushed to condemn Israel based on images of Gaza children falsely presented as suffering from malnutrition. Medical records later proved these children had genetic conditions requiring specialized care since birth, not starvation caused by Israeli actions.
The contrast is unmistakable. The condition visible in Hamas’s hostage video displays the true signs of deliberate starvation: visible weight loss, sunken features, and obvious physical deterioration. This bears no resemblance to the Palestinian children previously misrepresented in international media. Even the general Palestinian population in Gaza does not show these signs of malnourishment.
Senator Bernie Sanders called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu a “disgusting liar” based on Hamas’s fabricated imagery. Multiple members of Congress issued statements condemning Israel using manipulated photographs that Hamas had cropped to hide healthy siblings. Major media outlets gave these false claims front-page treatment, reaching over a billion users with terrorist propaganda.
Jewish community leaders with decades of experience with Hamas tactics chose to amplify terrorist narratives rather than defend Israeli hostages actually suffering under Hamas brutality. This represents not just failed judgment but a fundamental betrayal of the communities they claim to represent.
This pattern exposes a dangerous vulnerability in American institutions. Hamas has demonstrated they can successfully manipulate U.S. media, political leaders, and even Jewish organizations into amplifying terrorist propaganda against democratic allies. The same credulous approach that spread Hamas fabrications creates national security risks that extend far beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
ICAN calls for immediate condemnation of Hamas’s psychological warfare against hostage families and demands that American institutions implement verification procedures to prevent future manipulation by terrorist organizations. We will continue documenting which leaders and institutions can distinguish between terrorist propaganda and legitimate journalism.
This moment tests whether American democratic institutions will acknowledge their failure and develop resistance to enemy information warfare, or whether they will continue serving as weapons that hostile actors can deploy against U.S. allies. The credibility of American leadership in defending democratic values depends on their response to this clear evidence of how thoroughly they were deceived.
Hamas’s hostage video serves as an inadvertent lesson for everyone who participated in spreading their previous fabrications. This is what deliberate starvation actually looks like—and it is happening in Hamas dungeons while healthy Palestinian children were presented as victims of Israeli actions. The contrast should prompt serious reflection among all who failed to exercise appropriate skepticism when it mattered most.