
Macabre video of the last hostages held by Hamas shocks Israel
In the videos, Evyatar David, 24, one of the last 20 presumed living hostages in Hamas' custody − alongside the dead bodies of 29 others − was filmed by his captors. In the video, he is emaciated, with a gaunt face and pronounced bones, and describes the conditions in captivity. He was abducted while attending a music festival near Gaza. Later, his guards force him to dig a grave in the tunnel where he is being held. "I am digging my own grave, every day I am weaker," he says.
Another hostage, Rom Braslavski, 22, also appeared in a state of exhaustion, in a particularly degrading video published by Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally in Gaza. In the footage, he writhes in pain on the ground, explaining that he can no longer move.

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France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
UN experts call for GHF to be dismantled
An exceptionally-large group of the UN-mandated experts voiced grave concerns over the GHF's operations. The private organisation began distributing food in Gaza Strip in May as Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that had exacerbated existing shortages. "The GHF ... is an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law," the experts said in a joint statement. "The entanglement of Israeli intelligence, US contractors and ambiguous non-governmental entities underlines the urgent need for robust international oversight and action under UN auspices. "Calling it 'humanitarian' adds on to Israel's humanitarian camouflage and is an insult to the humanitarian enterprise and standards." On July 22, the UN rights office said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the GHF started operations -- nearly three-quarters of them in the vicinity of GHF sites. "Without clear accountability, the very idea of humanitarian relief may ultimately become a casualty of modern hybrid warfare," the special rapporteurs said. "The credibility and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance must be restored by dismantling the GHF, holding it and its executives accountable, and allowing experienced and humanitarian actors from the UN and civil society alike to take back the reins of managing and distributing lifesaving aid." The joint statement was signed by Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Israel accuses her of having an "obsessive, hate-driven agenda to delegitimise the state of Israel". The statement was also signed by 18 other special rapporteurs, plus other UN experts and members of UN working groups -- a notably large number for such statements. Special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself. More than two million people live in the Gaza Strip. GHF says it has distributed more than 1.76 million boxes of foodstuffs to date. "We continue to improve our operations," GHF executive director John Acree said Monday.


Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
Israel's PM Netanyahu says decision made for full occupation of Gaza
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Monday that a decision has been made for the full occupation of the Gaza Strip, including military operations in areas where hostages are believed to be held. "We're committing to free Gaza from the tyranny of these terrorists," Netanyahu said in a video address posted on X. "Many Gazans come to us and they say 'Help us be free. Help us be free of Hamas.' and that's what we will do." The Prime Minister's Office also said in a message to the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, "If this does not suit you, then you should resign." Netanyahu and Zamir have been at odds with the way the war in Gaza is being fought, with those tensions "having reached their peak" on Monday, according to a report on Israeli Army Radio. Netanyahu's announcement comes after months of faltering talks in Qatar between Israel and Hamas as mediators scramble to overcome hurdles from both sides and reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal as the humanitarian situation in the Strip deteriorates. Gaza Security and Recovery Program No other details were given about what the plans for a post-war Gaza would look like, but they could match those in a document seen by Euronews dated December 2023. That proposal, in the form of a 32-page academic paper titled "Gaza Security and Recovery Program, How Should The Day After Look Like," was authored by the Israel Defence and Security Forum, a group of over 35,000 Israeli security force reservists and the think tank Jerusalem Centre for Security and Foreign Affairs. The study was presented to the Israeli government at an unknown date and represents one of the future options currently under consideration by Israel for the Gaza Strip, according to officials who spoke to Euronews. The proposal depicts what "the day after" should look like in the scenario of the fall of Hamas. It entails economic reconstruction, building infrastructure and, as the authors of the study say, "uprooting a murderous ideology," also labelled as a process of "de-Nazification." "In order to prepare for the new state of affairs, even though the results of the military operation have not yet been achieved, it is necessary to prepare an orderly plan for the control of the Gaza Strip after the fall of Hamas," the document reads. The plan explicitly excludes the sovereignty of Palestine, or more specifically the Palestinian Authority (PA), or the presence of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as a source for humanitarian aid. "No less serious is the foolhardy idea of establishing a Palestinian state in Gaza," the document reads. However, it is not said in the document whether Israel intends to annex the Strip, although it is clearly stated that Israeli military (IDF) wants to have a greater say in the overall administration of Gaza's affairs. The document's authenticity was confirmed by one senior government official who talked to Euronews on the condition of anonymity to avoid interfering with the government's work, as well as Ohad Tal and Simcha Rothman, two Knesset members of the far-right National Religious Party, which is part of the ruling coalition. "The contents in this paper are part of the plans the government is looking at, they are on the table," the senior government official confirmed to Euronews. The official specified that it is not a "finalised plan," however, it is "definitely part of the scenarios that are on the table." "This plan is on the table and consistent with the direction the government is going," Tal confirmed. Rothman told Euronews that, while the plan remains a "moving target," the framework outlined criteria, such as "elimination of Hamas, no PA (Palestinian Authority) presence in Gaza, no Palestinian state, no UNWRA, (are) consistent with my approach and to the best of my knowledge, with the approach of the government." Rebuttal from Sa'ar Netanyahu's comments on Monday contradict those of Israel's Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, who told Euronews last month that Israel doesn't have "any intention" of controlling Gaza long term. "We don't have any intention to do so," Sa'ar said. "With regard to the Gaza Strip, we have only security concerns." "We [will] implement (President) Trump's plan, it is a good plan and makes a difference, and it means something very simple, that the residents of Gaza who want to leave can leave," Netanyahu said, referring to a proposal floated by Trump of resettling all of Gaza's population in other countries. That plan was met with horror by regional countries and international humanitarian groups, who said the forced resettlement of the population would be a violation of international law. Trump said he had plans to re-develop Gaza in the "Riviera of the Middle East" with upmarket resort hotels and shopping malls.
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
The only solution for Gaza and the hostages? International pressure
New unbearable footage has been added to the months-long account of the ordeal Palestinians in Gaza have suffered. This time, the videos, released by Hamas on July 31, show two Israeli hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski. Ever since they were abducted on October 7, 2023, the two hostages have been held captive in the maze of tunnels the Islamist militia organization built to shield itself from bombardment, regardless of the cost to civilians. These latest shocking and obscene displays of the war crime that is hostage-taking follow similar images that appeared during hostage releases in January and February, which were made possible by a ceasefire at the time. They confirm that Hamas has been completely discredited since committing the barbaric attack 22 months ago, and can no longer claim to play any role in Gaza once the guns finally fall silent. The footage also serves as a reminder that, by itself, war cannot achieve the result sought by the ruling coalition in Israel: the total and definitive eradication of Hamas. Such an outcome can only be reached by opening up a political process that will delegitimize the group's bloody extremism – a fanaticism echoed by Israel's far right, notably when it contemplates ethnically cleansing the narrow strip of land, before, surely, doing the same to whole parts of the occupied West Bank. This outcome is precisely what more than 500 Israeli former senior security officials have advocated. In a statement titled "Stop the Gaza War!" published on August 4, they argued that Israel's main war goals have already been met and that the last remaining objective, freeing the remaining hostages, can "only be achieved through a deal." The end of the conflict also means ending the instrumentalization of famine against the Palestinians in Gaza, a famine of which the hostages are also victims. It would require the resumption of aid operations entrusted to United Nations agencies that have proven their competence, unlike the current improvised Israeli-American humanitarian organization, which has had a disastrous track record. Boosted by their prestige, the former senior officials did not address their appeal to Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but to the president of the United States, Donald Trump. They confirmed that nothing can be expected from Israel's coalition government, which unilaterally ended the painstakingly negotiated cease-fire in January. They also said that pressure, when applied by Israel's powerful American ally, is the only way to force Netanyahu to yield. Their strong message, accompanied by a video in which a former director of Israel's security services stated that the Gaza war "stopped being a just war" and "is leading the State of Israel to the loss of its security and identity," deserves to be heard. When these figures call for the establishment of a "regional-international coalition that helps the Palestinian Authority (once reformed) to offer Gazans and all Palestinians an alternative to Hamas," they are, in their own way, supporting the joint initiative launched by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving the two-state solution. No one can be satisfied with a ceasefire that offers no diplomatic prospects. Internationalizing the Israel-Palestine conflict by mobilizing a coalition of the willing is now a necessity.