Hostages David, Braslavski have lost dangerous amount of body weight, medical team says

The medical team of the Hostages Forum assesses that hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski are severely underweight and face the risk of multi-system failure, based on footage recently published by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

David has lost nearly half of his body weight, while Braslavski has dropped 31 percent, the team assesses in a new report.

In the video of David, he is shown skeletal and digging what he said he feared was his grave.

David’s first cousin, Matan Eshet, told The Times of Israel that the family did not pay close attention to the medical team’s statement.

“They can tell me his medical condition and the statistics, but he’s in such bad shape that I can see it with my own eyes,” says Eshet. “I don’t need a degree to tell me that he’s on the brink of death.”

David’s family first caught a glimpse of the video on Telegram on Friday night, but did not watch it, says Eshet, knowing it would break their spirits.

“I was broken when I saw it,” says Eshet. “My cousin doesn’t look or sound like himself. He looks like a copy of a copy of a copy of Evyatar.”

Eshet said he had hoped for a glimpse of the cousin he knows. What angers him the most was seeing the meaty hand of the Hamas terrorist shown in the uncut video, next to David’s emaciated, wasted body.

He says he is taking a break from social media because he keeps seeing his cousin’s face.

“I see it every time I close my eyes,” says Eshet.