The brother of an Israeli hostage who was last seen in a video digging what was said to be his own grave is demanding the international community put greater pressure on mediators Egypt and Qatar to force Hamas to release captives held for almost 700 days.
The comments came as the Israeli military intensified its bombardment of Gaza City, days after the Netanyahu government formally approved plans to occupy the area and forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the process.
Evyatar David was abducted from the Nova music festival near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023, and is among 50 Israelis still held by Hamas.
Twenty are believed to still be alive, although US President Donald Trump has suggested a couple of those surviving hostages may have been killed in recent weeks.
In early August, Hamas released a video showing an emaciated Mr David in a tunnel in an undisclosed location in Gaza.
"I never thought I would have to look at someone that I love and is so close to me, who's a human skeleton and to know that he's being abused intentionally," his brother Ilay told the ABC.
"The terrorists, they didn't have to bring him to that point.
"I don't know what dangerous game they're playing. They're pushing him to a point where, if he loses faith, his body will collapse and that's it and it's over. And it's only because of their twisted propaganda or twisted minds."
Mr David said the footage showed the arm of one of his brother's Hamas captors, comparatively healthy compared to the incredibly gaunt frame of Evyatar.
He said freed hostages had told him Hamas withheld food from them.
"I don't know if there's enough food in the strip. I mean, I've heard many people saying different things, so I'm not sure," he said.
"I believe that the humanitarian aid that is getting into Gaza should go to the hostages as well because right now Hamas decides who gets food and who doesn't.
"If you're Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, you get food, you live. If you are not, you're going to be miserable, and it counts for the Gazans, and it count for Evyatar and the other hostages."
On Friday, the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification declared Gaza City was officially in famine.
Israel rejected the finding and accused the international humanitarian community of accepting Hamas propaganda about food shortages.
That is despite repeated warnings that Israeli aid restrictions had fuelled the crisis in the strip — particularly since its three-month-long total blockade of Gaza earlier this year, and aid agencies' concerns Israel was making it too dangerous to pick up and deliver supplies which were making it across the border.
Extra food is now entering the strip as a result of humanitarian pauses in fighting and secure transport corridors. But agencies warn it is still nowhere near enough to reverse the situation.
'Only concern' is hostages' survival
Ilay David said he had taken his advocacy to the United Nations and beyond, in a hope that international leaders would put more pressure on Hamas to release the hostages.
"I think first they should call the mediators [Egypt and Qatar]," he argued.
"The mediators have pretty good connection with the terror organisation in the Gaza Strip.
"If they care about the humanitarian crisis in the region, in the Gaza Strip, they should care about the hostages as well."
Many hostage families, and their supporters across Israel, have been critical of the Netanyahu government for launching its new Gaza City offensive, believing it will threaten the lives of the remaining captives.
Mr David was not prepared to explicitly back those fears but he insisted all governments could and should be doing more to secure the release of people like his brother.
"I think if enough was being done so far, and we're talking two years after October 7, then the hostages would be here already, all of them — and there are still 50 [held captive]," he said.
"And right now, my only concern is really, and I'm not talking about a deal or a ceasefire or an agreement, I'm talking about making sure the hostages will survive negotiations.
"Humanitarian aid must reach the hostages, it must reach my brother, and he must get the proper treatment or else he'll die very, very soon."
Attacks on Gaza City intensify
Over the weekend, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intensified attacks on the outskirts of Gaza City, in the early stages of its campaign to take over and occupy the area.
Planes and tanks bombarded northern and eastern suburbs of the city, including Zeitoun and Shuja'iyya, prompting many Palestinians to flee for their safety.
It is feared the Israeli operation will forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have already been forced to move numerous times during the war.
More than 80 per cent of the strip is either under IDF control or subject to displacement orders, leaving an ever-shrinking patch of allegedly safe land — although many Palestinians argue no part of Gaza is safe.
The IDF and Israeli government say Gaza City is one Hamas's last strongholds in the strip, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argues seizing it is necessary to bring an end to the war.
The mission has garnered widespread condemnation around the world, seen as a dangerous escalation in a war already raging for more than 22 months.
Hamas in return said Mr Netanyahu's approval to take over Gaza City after it had accepted a proposal showed he was "the real obstacle to prisoner exchange deals and ceasefire".
"A ceasefire agreement is the only way to return the (Zionist) prisoners, and Netanyahu bears full responsibility for their fate," Hamas said.
Tensions in Israeli leadership
While the military operation to take over and occupy Gaza City slowly gathers pace, new details of the tensions between the Netanyahu government and the military's top brass have emerged.
Over the weekend, Israel's Channel 12 reported far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich took aim at the IDF chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, in a fiery meeting a few days ago.
Mr Ben Gvir and Mr Smotrich, who are not members of Mr Netanyahu's Likud Party but are in his coalition, accused Lieutenant General Zamir of not moving quickly enough after suggestions forcing the population out of Gaza City could take up to a year.
"In my opinion, you can besiege them, whoever doesn't evacuate, don't let them," Mr Smotrich said, according to Channel 12.
"No water, no electricity, they can die of hunger or surrender — this is what we want and you're capable.
"This isn't what the political leadership ordered. You don't want to defeat Hamas."
Lieutenant General Zamir reportedly hit back, shouting that the men had no understanding of how the military operated.
The IDF chief had raised concerns with the idea of taking over Gaza City, as Mr Netanyahu pushed ahead with the plan.
Despite those protests, the prime minister and his security cabinet voted to expand the offensive and the military yielded to their demands.
Defence Minister Israel Katz criticised the leaks, saying it served to "harm the security of the State of Israel and create a distorted impression regarding the activity of the IDF in Gaza, weaken the hands of our soldiers, and instil false hopes in our enemies".
"The IDF is acting and will act with full force to defeat Hamas and bring about the release of all the hostages and to bring an end to the war in accordance with the conditions set by Israel," he posted on social media platform X.
