Herzog speaks to parents of Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal after latest Hamas propaganda video

President Isaac Herzog spoke to the family of Evyatar David earlier this evening, after Hamas aired a video of the hostage in which he appeared frail and emaciated.

The Office of the President says that Herzog also spoke to the mother of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who is being held together with David.

“The nation’s heart burns with worry and pain at the sight of the harrowing images,” he told the families, according to a readout from his office. “It is a chilling reminder of what goes on in the depths of Hamas’s terror tunnels — pure cruelty.”

Herzog told the families that the nation “will not rest, we will not be silent, and we will not take our eyes off the goal — to see Evyatar, Guy, and all the hostages return home safely,” his office says.

The president’s office says that during the conversation, David’s parents stressed to Herzog that their son is seriously unwell, and that the entire family is consumed by their anxiety for him.

“The president noted that the latest documentation once again exposes the crimes of Hamas — a terrorist organization that systematically starves its hostages, abuses them, and uses their bodies and suffering as a tool of propaganda,” Herzog’s office says. “All this while trying to incite global public opinion against Israel through a false starvation campaign, while it plunders humanitarian aid and withholds it from Gaza’s residents.”