GAZA CITY, Palestine/ISTANBUL 

Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, on Saturday released a video of an Israeli captive in Gaza appearing severely emaciated, saying he has been “abandoned” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is “on the way to death” under Israel’s blockade of the enclave.

The footage, shared on Telegram, shows the captive speaking from inside a tunnel as Gaza endures months of starvation amid Israel’s ongoing war.

“I want to say to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: I feel that I and the other captives here have been completely abandoned,” the man said.

“What I am doing now is digging my grave with my own hands. My body grows weaker with each passing day, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m on the way to death,” he added.

Pointing to the tunnel around him, he said: “This is the grave I may be buried in.”

Addressing the Israeli public, he pleaded: “You are the only ones who can stop this, so that I can return and sleep in my bed with my family at home.”

‏On Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that seven more Palestinians, including a child, had died from starvation, raising the total death toll from hunger to 169, including 93 children, since Oct. 7, 2023.​​​​​​​

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 60,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombing has destroyed the enclave and led to a high risk of famine.

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.