Occupied Quds - Saba:
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid launched a scathing attack on the government of war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu after the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, published a video of the prisoner held in the Gaza Strip, Eviatar David.
Lapid said in a post on the X platform: "Every member of the government should watch Evitar's video today before going to sleep, and try to fall asleep while thinking of Evitar trying to survive inside the tunnel."
For his part, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Yair Golan, said in a post on the X platform: "Netanyahu is not returning the prisoners because he doesn't want to, because he knows it will hurt him politically. That's the truth."
In the same context, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted Galia David, the mother of the aforementioned prisoner, as saying: "I am devastated, but I have one certainty: my son is alive, Evitar is alive," noting that this was the first time she had dared to watch a recording of him.
According to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, a number of families of prisoners and former prisoners demanded that the government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, conclude an immediate deal to free their sons from the suffering they are facing in Gaza. Earlier on Friday, the Al-Qassam Brigades released a video of Israeli prisoner Evitar, showing him suffering from severe weight loss as a result of Tel Aviv's ongoing starvation policy in Gaza.
The video showed the prisoner sitting on a bed in a narrow room, his bones clearly visible as a result of malnutrition. The clip also included previous scenes of him in a car with another prisoner, watching the ceremony for the release of Israeli prisoners as part of a previous exchange deal during a truce that took place last January.
In the video, broadcast in three languages (Arabic, Hebrew, and English), Al-Qassam Brigades said that the prisoners it holds "eat what we eat and drink what we drink." It accompanied it with footage of children from Gaza showing signs of malnutrition, amid the ongoing Israeli blockade.
The video also included statements by Israeli officials regarding the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, with Netanyahu appearing to say, "Allow the entry of a minimum level of aid." Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir appeared to say, "I think in the next phase, what should be sent to Gaza are bombs," referring to the insistence of senior Israeli officials on starving Gaza, including the prisoners held by Hamas.
On February 23, the Qassam Brigades broadcast a video of the moments of the handover of Israeli prisoners that day. Two prisoners were seen inside a Qassam vehicle, watching the scene in shock and astonishment. Among them was Evitar, who was suffering from malnutrition.
Then the two prisoners sent a message to Netanyahu, urging him to continue with the deal to ensure their return home.
One of them said, "Please, save us so we can return to our homes. I beg you, Netanyahu. Enough. You have destroyed our lives. You have killed us."
The other added, "Bring us back to our homes. That is what we want."
The two prisoners continued, "Netanyahu, you have killed us. We are watching our friends being released to their homes after more than 500 days of captivity." However, the Al-Qassam Brigades said in various statements that Netanyahu does not care about the lives of Israeli prisoners in Gaza for his own political interests.
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