The IDF on Wednesday released video footage purporting to show Hamas operatives enjoying plentiful meals in Gaza’s tunnel network, even as civilians above ground endure widespread hunger and food insecurity.

The Arabic-language spokesperson for the IDF, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, shared the footage on social media, noting it reveals a stark contrast between the conditions of Hamas fighters underground and the suffering of ordinary Gazans. “While Hamas leadership falsely accuses Israel of orchestrating a ‘starvation campaign,’ the videos show operatives boasting about their meals underground,” Adraee said. “It’s important to clarify the food shown was not part of the humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza.”

The footage shows armed men laughing, joking, and preparing what appears to be fruit, meat, and rice in a tunnel chamber. At one point, an operative remarks, “I ate five bowls of rice today.” Another addresses someone off-camera: “Abu Khaled, you missed out.”

Adraee said the video is further evidence of Hamas’s exploitation of the civilian population it claims to protect. “These terrorists are not heroes. They are self-serving thieves, hoarding resources at your expense, hiding in tunnels out of fear of facing the consequences of their actions,” he said in a direct address to Gazan civilians. “Once again, the disconnect between Hamas and the suffering of Gaza’s civilians is laid bare.”

The footage arrives as Israel faces mounting pressure from global allies. Earlier this week, more than 20 Western nations—including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany—issued a joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire and slamming what they described as the “drip-feed” of aid allowed into the strip. Citing UN figures, the statement expressed alarm that over 800 Palestinians may have been killed while waiting for food in recent months.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy issued one of the strongest condemnations to date, saying he was “horrified” by verified reports of Israeli troops opening fire on civilians queuing near aid distribution sites. “These are not words a foreign secretary typically uses when trying to maintain diplomacy,” Lammy told reporters. “But when you see innocent children reaching out for food only to be gunned down—as we have witnessed in recent days—it becomes impossible for Britain to remain silent.”

Lammy added that the UK was considering “further action” if conditions do not improve, and emphasized public support in the UK for a ceasefire. “Eighty-three percent of British citizens support an immediate end to this conflict, and we believe it’s time Israel heard that call—not just from us, but from its own conscience.”

Israel has consistently rejected accusations of intentionally targeting civilians or obstructing aid, instead accusing Hamas of hoarding supplies, embedding within civilian infrastructure, and deliberately manufacturing humanitarian disasters to fuel international backlash.

The footage shared by the IDF is unlikely to soften criticism, but it represents an aggressive counternarrative: that while civilians suffer, Hamas fighters remain shielded and fed underground, waging a war at the cost of the very people they claim to represent.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)