This comes as Israel has been waging an ongoing war on the Gaza Strip for the 22nd month, starving more than two million Palestinians.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry's statement read: "Avitar and all hostages must be released immediately, and they must be provided with urgent medical care and adequate food," while simultaneously ignoring the blockade and starvation policy imposed by Tel Aviv on the population of the Gaza Strip, which also hinders negotiation efforts.
The ministry claimed that "prisoner David appeared as a walking skeleton, while Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants celebrated feasts just meters away."
In this context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that he held a lengthy conversation on Saturday evening with the families of prisoners Avitar David and Rom Barslavsky, informing them that "efforts to return all prisoners are continuing tirelessly."
The Qassam Brigades released a video on Friday showing David sitting on a bed in a cramped room, his bones clearly visible as a result of malnutrition. The video also featured previous footage of him in a car with another prisoner during a ceremony marking the release of Israeli prisoners as part of a previous prisoner swap deal in January.
Al-Qassam Brigades asserted that "the prisoners eat what we eat and drink what we drink," pointing to the severe hunger crisis also facing Gaza's residents. The clip was accompanied by images of children suffering from malnutrition.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, also released a video on Thursday showing captive Rom Barslavsky before contact with his captors was lost.
Scenes of the Israeli prisoners sparked angry reactions in Tel Aviv, with tens of thousands gathering in the city center to demand a prisoner exchange deal leading to the release of all prisoners in Gaza.
Channel 12 reported that the demonstration in the Abductees' Square was one of the largest events in recent months, noting that "members of the prisoners' families participated in it, including the sister of prisoner Avitar, who delivered a speech in which she appealed to the international community, the Israeli leadership, and US President Donald Trump to save her brother and those with him."
"We demand that treatment and food be provided to Evitar, Guy Gilboa, and the rest of the prisoners," she said at a press conference. Meanwhile, a relative of the prisoners sharply criticized Netanyahu, saying, "You're the one who wasted every opportunity to save them with your absurd tactics. Enough! The prisoners are paying the price."
These developments come after a Hebrew-language announcement, in which US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was quoted as telling the families of the prisoners that he was working on a "comprehensive deal" for their return, claiming that Hamas was "willing to disarm," a claim later denied by the movement.
On July 6, Hamas and Israel began indirect negotiations in Doha to discuss a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement, mediated by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States. However, Tel Aviv and its ally, Washington, announced a few days ago that they were withdrawing their national teams from the consultations.
Hamas has repeatedly declared its willingness to release Israeli prisoners "in bulk" in exchange for an end to the war of extermination, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
But Netanyahu is evading the situation by proposing new conditions, including the disarmament of Palestinian factions, and is currently insisting on reoccupying Gaza.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. More than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Since the genocide began on October 7, 2023, Israel has been simultaneously committing a starvation crime against the Palestinians of Gaza. On March 2, it tightened its measures by closing all crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, causing famine to spread and reaching "catastrophic" levels.
The US-backed genocide left more than 209,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
