700 days of war: Hamas releases new hostage video, families call for deal to free their loved ones & IDF prepares for attack

Israel on Friday marked 700 days since the terror organization Hamas carried out a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Envelope region, breaching the border and murdering over 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping 251 people.

In response, Israel started a massive military operation to return the hostages and destroy the terrorists’ military and governmental capabilities, according to the goals set by the Israeli government for the war.

Today, Hamas’ capabilities are diminished but not destroyed, and the IDF is preparing for a large offensive that aims to capture and occupy Gaza City and the central camps area, bringing the whole of the enclave under Israeli control for the first time during the war.

Meanwhile, 48 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with only 20 believed to be alive. The government has expressed “grave concerns” for two of them, and confirmed that 26 are dead.

The Hostage Families Forum staged a demonstration of an “emergency call” in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, which it said marked “700 days that 48 hostages have remained trapped deep within Hamas tunnels in Gaza".

Activists dressed in yellow – the color representing the hostages – spelled out “S.O.S.” and showed an hourglass symbolizing the hostages’ time running out.

S.O.S 🚨🚨🚨

An emergency call for the rescue of hostages this morning at Hostages Square, marking 700 days that 48 hostages have remained trapped deep within Hamas tunnels in Gaza

Drone photography credit: Roy Ash
Photos credit: Uriel Even Sapir pic.twitter.com/Lj6WAy3hwJ

— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) September 5, 2025

Hamas released its latest propaganda video on Friday, showing Israeli hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal together with Alon Ohel. Both families asked that the video not be published.

The terror group claimed the video was filmed on Aug. 28, two days before the elimination of Hamas’ propaganda chief, Abu Obaida. Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh reported earlier this week that Abu Obaida had been involved in a propaganda campaign aimed at thwarting the impending IDF offensive on Gaza City.

“It now appears that this plan, conceived prior to Abu Obeida’s assassination, is being put into action this morning. The messages in the Hamas video are precisely aimed at that objective,” Kadosh wrote.

On the ground in Gaza, Israeli forces continue to slowly ramp up the intensity of the fighting as they work to recruit, equip and train tens of thousands of reserve soldiers ahead of the campaign.

“This week, we began mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists to advance the strikes against Hamas in Gaza City,” IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin said on Thursday in a briefing.

Israeli troops under the Southern Command have already been operating inside the Gaza City neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Shejaiya, Defrin reported, noting, “Today, we have operational control of 40 percent of Gaza City.”

“Hamas will face the IDF in full power in Gaza City. We will increase the pressure on Hamas until its decisive defeat. We will continue to pursue them everywhere,“ he vowed.

Most hostage families have opposed the new offensive, arguing instead for a deal to secure the release of all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza – terms they believe Hamas would accept.

“There is a deal on the table – this is what will bring back the last hostage, this is what will end the war,” Forum representatives stated on Friday.

“We are deeply concerned to our very core. This operation puts our loved ones in immediate and direct danger as they languish in the depths of Hamas tunnels for 700 days.”

“Unfortunately, we have not heard of any measures to protect them, nor has any plan been presented to us ensuring that Operation Gideon’s Chariots II will not lead to another tragedy like the murder of the six hostages. Our 48 loved ones face the danger of being murdered and lost forever in Gaza's ruins,” the Forum stated.

“I never imagined that we would reach the 700th day and that I would have to stand here and talk about my brother Eitan, who is still a hostage, and my friends who are still being held hostage,” said Iair Horn, whose brother Eitan remains in captivity, at a press conference on Friday.

“I have a million stories about what it’s like to be in hell… that we didn’t eat anything, that there was no air to breathe in the tunnels, that we barely drank water – and even when we did, it was salty. But after 700 days, it seems that it doesn’t matter to anyone, and that it’s ok to keep people captive.”