Days Away From Death: As Hostages Fade, Israel Faces A Terrible Choice

The image is almost too painful to describe: Evyatar David, once a vibrant young man, now a living skeleton, slumped in a Hamas tunnel, scratching desperate tally marks into a calendar like a prisoner on death row. He is gaunt. Pale. Hollow-eyed. In the video released by Hamas, Evyatar whispers in a weakened voice, "I haven't eaten for a few days in a row." At one point, he's forced to dig what he fears is his own grave.

And yet, somehow, the Western media yawns.

Contrast this with the daily flood of front-page photos depicting hunger in Gaza. Every image of a child clutching a bag of flour is amplified to global headlines. Every accusation--real or manufactured--against Israel's humanitarian policies is paraded with outrage. But when Hamas releases proof of its barbarism--proof of deliberate starvation, captivity, and psychological torture of Jewish civilians--the story is buried deep in the back pages, if it's acknowledged at all.

Why? Why does the suffering of Israeli hostages not evoke the same empathy? Why are Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski less worthy of compassion than those in Gaza?

This is more than media bias--it is a moral failing. And it is deadly.

David's family says he has only days to live. That's not political rhetoric. That's a medical and humanitarian emergency. These hostages--innocent men and women abducted on October 7--have endured ten months in dark tunnels with little food, almost no medical care, and the constant fear of execution. Some are believed to have already died in captivity. And while the world debates ceasefires and politics, the clock ticks louder.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, speaking in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, captured the growing desperation when he said, "No piecemeal deals. That doesn't work. And we've tried everything." There is now increasing momentum toward an "all or nothing" hostage deal--one that would bring everyone home or escalate into a final, devastating offensive in Gaza.

But Hamas isn't budging.

In fact, they outright rejected Witkoff's statements. They vowed, again, to continue fighting "as long as the occupation exists." Let's be clear: their definition of "occupation" isn't the West Bank. It's all of Israel. Hamas has no intention of disarming, no intention of peace. They're not interested in humanitarian compromises--they are committed to eternal war, even if it means sacrificing every civilian in Gaza along the way.

And yet, even now, even with this horrifying footage of Evyatar David fearing his own grave, Hamas is playing the PR game brilliantly.

They release selective videos. They show just enough suffering in Gaza to keep foreign governments pressuring Israel. They weaponize every aid shipment. Meanwhile, their own propaganda admits they control the food in the Strip--and that hostages are being starved deliberately.

David, in his own tortured words, describes being given a single can of food "for two days so I don't die." He doesn't know what day it is. He doesn't know when--or if--he will eat again.

And yet, some in the West still treat Hamas as a legitimate negotiating partner.

Israel, for its part, is preparing for a final reckoning. Prime Minister Netanyahu has not ruled out taking full control of Gaza if no deal is reached. That would be a seismic shift: not just in military strategy, but in geopolitics. Some in his coalition are even calling for the razing of Gaza City.

That's not bluster. It's a signal that time is running out.

If Hamas continues to reject a full hostage deal, and if more hostages are shown wasting away--or worse--public pressure in Israel will explode. The IDF will be unleashed with a fury the world has not yet seen in this war. Gaza could be annexed or just simply razed to the ground. The international community may scream--but what nation on earth would tolerate its own citizens being tortured underground for nearly a year while the world shrugs?

What happens next depends on whether the United States and key Arab states can pressure Hamas into accepting reality. Some Arab nations, reportedly, are now demanding that Hamas disarm. They know the tide is shifting. They see that peace--true peace--requires the demilitarization of terror.

But Hamas won't give up unless it is forced. Not by diplomacy. Not by appeasement. Only by the undeniable threat of total defeat.

And as that moment nears, it is imperative that we, in the West, confront the hypocrisy of our silence.

We cannot claim to be champions of human rights while ignoring the deliberate starvation of Jewish hostages.

We cannot demand compassion for Gaza while turning away from videos of a young man being buried alive, not in dirt, but in apathy.

And we cannot ask Israel to show restraint while their sons and daughters rot in tunnels, tortured and alone, as the world looks the other way.

History will not remember who printed the most headlines. But it will remember who stood for truth. Who stood for life. And who, in the face of unbearable evil, finally said: enough.

Let us say it now. Not one more hostage can die. Not one more day of starvation. No more silence. No more lies. No more partial deals. Bring them home--or prepare for Israel to finish what October 7 began.