Israeli hostage families hold emergency protest after Gaza militants release videos showing emaciated captives

Pictures of Israeli hostages held in Gaza during a demonstration outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, on August 2. (Abir Sultan/EPA/Shutterstock via CNN Newsource)

Protestors gathered in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square” on Saturday to stage an emergency protest following the release of propaganda videos showing emaciated Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

Videos released by militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad this week showed Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski in a visibly fragile state. The undated footage of David is juxtaposed with images of starving Palestinian children.

They are among fifty hostages that remain in the territory, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

The militant groups released the videos with ceasefire talks stalled and as Palestinians face a mounting starvation crisis in the enclave.

Steve Witkoff, the United States’ special envoy to the Middle East, attended the public plaza on Saturday amid the protests, one day after he visited a controversial US-backed aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip.

Witkoff later held a “very emotional meeting” that lasted nearly three hours with around 40 representatives of the hostage families, a source who was in attendance at the meeting told CNN.

During the meeting, Witkoff said ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas should be “all or nothing,” with all 50 hostages in Gaza being returned to Israel in one go, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum cited him as saying.

“The plan is not to expand the war, but to end it. We think the negotiations should be changed to all or nothing. End the war and bring all 50 hostages home at the same time – that’s the only way,” Witkoff reportedly said.

“Someone will be to blame” if the remaining living hostages do not return to Israel still alive, Witkoff said, according to the forum.

According to the forum, Witkoff said that the U.S. will “get your children home and hold Hamas responsible for any bad acts on their part” and “do what’s right for the Gazan people.”

“We have a plan to end the war and bring everyone home,” he reportedly added.

CNN has reached out to Witkoff’s team to confirm if he made these comments.

The hostage families – who have frequently said that ongoing fighting in Gaza endangers their loved ones – on Saturday called for an end to the war in the territory and a “comprehensive deal” that would see the remaining hostages freed.

“Against the backdrop of horrifying footage and harsh reports about the hostages’ condition – hostage families will cry out this morning in the heart of Tel Aviv,” a statement from Israel’s hostage families said. “We appeal to the Israeli government and the .U.S administration – look our loved ones – and us – in the eyes.”

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Friday that fighting will continue “without rest” in Gaza if there is no hostage deal.

“I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we will succeed in reaching a partial deal for the release of our captives. If not, the fighting will continue without rest,” he said.

‘He has simply been forgotten there’

On Friday, the armed wing of Hamas released an undated video showing 24-year-old David – who was taken hostage at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023 – being held in a narrow cell.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters initially cautioned against using imagery from the video, but later said that David’s family had authorized the publication of a still image.

On Saturday, Hamas released a new video featuring David which appears to be a longer version of the video released on Friday.

A similar propaganda video was published by Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Thursday showing Braslavski also in a frail state. Islamic Jihad said it was the last video taken of the hostage before the group lost contact in July with the militants holding him.

“People talk a lot about what is happening in Gaza, about hunger, and I want to ask everyone who spoke about hunger: Did you see our Rom? He is not receiving food, he is not receiving medicine. He has simply been forgotten there,” Braslavski’s family said in a statement.

“We ask that Witkoff see this video. And we make an urgent plea to President Trump: Bring our son home,” the family said.

Earlier this week, a UN-backed food security agency warned that “the worst case scenario of famine” is unfolding in Gaza, its starkest alert yet as Israel faces growing international pressure to allow more food into the territory.

Gaza’s health ministry said Saturday that seven people had died from malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including one child, bringing the total death toll from starvation since the conflict began in 2023 to 169.

In addition, at least 39 people were killed and more than 800 injured in the same period while waiting for aid in different parts of the territory, the ministry added.

By Billy Stockwell, Eugenia Yosef, Ibrahim Dahman, Mitchell McCluskey, Dana Karni, Catherine Nicholls and Lauren Izso, CNN