Intense reactions were sparked by a Greta Thunberg Instagram post that included a photograph of Israeli hostage Evyatar David, held by Hamas, presented as a Palestinian prisoner. The post was made on Monday by Yasmin Aker, a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla crew that attempted to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and was automatically shared to Thunberg’s account with over 16 million followers. As of Tuesday, the Swedish activist had not removed the post.
The Greta Thunberg post that sparked controversy
The accompanying text spoke of “cruelty and dehumanization” against Palestinian prisoners and emphasized that “humanity cannot be selective”. However, the post contained a small photograph of Evyatar David, an Israeli hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, who appeared emaciated inside a tunnel dug by the terrorist organization. The image comes from a propaganda video by Hamas that was published several months ago, where David – in terrible condition – described the conditions of his captivity. The fact that Thunberg, who frequently criticizes Israel and had been deported a day earlier for participating in a flotilla attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza, shared a photo of a Hamas hostage in a post about Palestinian prisoners, caused an uproar on social media.
“Shame,” wrote the Israeli hostage’s sister about Greta Thunberg’s post
The post also provoked a reaction from the hostage’s sister, Yeela David, according to the Times of Israel, who commented: “You need to do research before posting things you don’t understand”. “In the sixth photo you have included the image of an ISRAELI HOSTAGE that Hamas deliberately let starve! This is Evyatar David”, she wrote. In a second comment she added: “Every minute you don’t delete this post you become more and more of a laughingstock. Shame”.
Who is Evyatar David
The 24-year-old Israeli was captured by Hamas at the music festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when the organization kidnapped a total of 251 people. In a recent video released by his family, David appears skeletal, digging his own grave inside a Gaza tunnel, in a horrifying propaganda message. “I haven’t eaten in days,” he can be heard saying.
The family speaks of “nightmarish images” and denounces that their son and brother is “deliberately and cynically starving in Hamas tunnels – a living skeleton, buried alive”.
