New Hostage Videos Sow Fear and Horror in Israel
The video prompted an outpouring of fear and horror among the families of the dozens of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza nearly two years after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and ignited the war.
'Our brothers are turning into skin and bones at this very moment,' Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan was one of about 250 people taken hostage during the Hamas assault, said at a rally on Saturday. His son is believed to still be alive.
More than 100 hostages were freed during two short-lived cease-fires, the last of which ended in March. Israeli forces have found the corpses of some other hostages as they swept through Gaza. Israel believes that about 20 hostages are still alive and nearly 30 are presumed dead.
Cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas to free more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners have stalled. Last month, Israeli and American negotiators left Doha, Qatar, where most of the talks have been held, without a breakthrough.
On Saturday, President Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with the families of Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv. He reiterated Mr. Trump's commitment to bringing home the remaining captives and said, 'those who are alive must be kept alive,' according to the Hostage Families Forum, an advocacy group.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
13 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Rare Aerial Footage Reveals Destruction in Gaza
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. New footage captured from an aid drop over the Gaza Strip offers a glimpse at the destruction in the war-torn territory as international pressure mounts on the Israeli government to allow more supplies into Gaza. Why It Matters Israeli aerial and ground attacks have destroyed large parts of the densely populated Gaza Strip since the start of the war, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. More than 1,200 people died, and 251 more were taken hostage in Gaza. In the just under 22 months since the attack, more than 61,000 people have been killed in Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Tuesday. This number does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. Israel's government is under increased pressure to end the war and to facilitate aid supplies into Gaza, as images and reports of Palestinians dying from starvation or malnutrition reverberate around the world. Smoke rises amid destroyed buildings following an Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on August 1, 2025. Smoke rises amid destroyed buildings following an Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on August 1, 2025. AP Photo/Leo Correa Israeli officials have denied that Palestinians are starving, while accusing Hamas of looting aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel has allowed two million tons of food into Gaza since the start of the war. Hamas said it gives the hostages in Gaza the same food and drink that civilians in the Strip receive. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pushed for a ceasefire, disagreed with Israel's assessment in late July, telling reporters: "Those children look very hungry." What To Know Footage captured by a journalist from British outlet ITV News on board a Jordanian flight carrying aid to drop into Gaza, published late on Monday, showed swathes of rubble with few buildings left standing. Newsweek could not independently verify the footage and has reached out to the Israeli military for comment. Aerial footage filmed by ITV News shows scale of Gaza's destructionhttps:// — ITV News (@itvnews) August 4, 2025 The BBC reported in mid-July that Israel had demolished "thousands of buildings" in Gaza since March this year, including "entire towns and suburbs" within a few weeks. A United States-brokered ceasefire deal fell apart in March when Israel restarted operations in Gaza. The United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said at the start of August that 92 percent of housing units in Gaza were destroyed or damaged. The agency quoted figures from another U.N. branch. There were more than 53 million tons of debris in Gaza as of April 2025, according to the U.N.'s Environment Program. This is a rise of 133 percent over the 15 months to April 2025, the U.N.'s report said. The "most significant" increase in debris was recorded in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, according to the figures. Rafah has felt the brunt of Israeli operations in Gaza, along with the cities of Khan Younis, just north of Rafah, and large chunks of northern Gaza. Several militaries have flown over the Strip to distribute aid in recent days, although aerial aid drops are criticized by humanitarian groups as often dangerous and less effective than road convoys. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that six nations—the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, Belgium and Canada—had dropped 120 food aid packages over in an effort "led" by Israeli authorities. Israel prevents international journalists from entering Gaza, with the exception of tightly controlled trips organized by the Israeli military. Israel, in late July, started a daily pause in fighting in three of Gaza's heavily populated areas to allow aid into Gaza, although Netanyahu said humanitarian supplies entering the strip would be "minimal." Israel accuses Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another group that has operated in Gaza, of "using the starvation and torture of hostages as part of a deliberate and well-planned sadistic propaganda campaign." Hamas, in recent days, released footage showing two of the remaining Israeli hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, emaciated in captivity in Gaza. Fifty hostages remain in the Strip of the 251 people taken by Hamas in October 2023. Osama Hamden, a senior Hamas official, said in remarks from a news conference shared with Newsweek that "enemy prisoners eat what our besieged and starved people eat, and drink what they drink." Hamden said he called on the U.N. Security Council to leverage Israel into opening up all aid crossings into Gaza, "urgently delivering food, water and medicine." The Hamas official said the U.N. should "compel" Israel to stop the "destruction of civilian life in Gaza" and to withdraw from the Strip. The U.N. Security Council will meet in New York on Tuesday afternoon. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed aid distribution initiative supported by Israel, is currently the primary method for Palestinians to access supplies in designated spots after Israel lifted its aid blockade in mid-May. The organization has been heavily criticized. The system has "generated a bloodbath in distribution lines in Gaza, which is a scandal, which is shameful, and has to stop," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Thursday. COGAT, the Israeli authority for distributing aid in Gaza, said on Tuesday that a "limited number of local merchants" had been approved to bring supplies into the Strip, so the private sector supplies could reduce a reliance on aid. Israeli media reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu had indicated his desire to take military control of all of Gaza, despite U.S.-led efforts to reach a new ceasefire agreement. "It is still necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, release our hostages and ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel," Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday. What People Are Saying Several hundred former Israeli security officials appealed in a joint letter to Trump on Monday for the Republican to use his sway with Netanyahu to pressure the Israeli leader to "end the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering." The U.K. said last month it would recognize Palestine as a state in September if Israel did not take "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza." Canada and France have signaled similar intentions. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Tuesday: "Hunger has become the latest killer in Gaza."
Fox News
13 minutes ago
- Fox News
WATCH LIVE: State Department holds press briefing with spokesperson Tammy Bruce
Spokesperson Tammy Bruce leads the Department Press Briefing at the Department of State as aid reaches Gaza.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Hezbollah threatens to resume firing at Israel if it intensifies Lebanon action
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah warned on Tuesday that if Israel intensifies its military operations against his group, the Iran-backed armed faction will resume firing missiles toward Israel. Naim Kassem's comments came as Lebanon's Cabinet was meeting to discuss Hezbollah's disarmament. Beirut is under US pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead. Since the war ended in November with a US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members. Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities. Israel's military has said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis were displaced during the war. Since the ceasefire, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for one attack on a disputed area along the border. In a televised speech on Tuesday, Kassem said Hezbollah rejects any timetable to hand over its weapons. 'Israel's interest is not to widen the aggression because if they expand, the resistance will defend, the army will defend and the people will defend,' he said. 'This defence will lead to the fall of missiles inside Israel.' Since the war ended, Hezbollah has withdrawn most of its fighters and weapons from the area along the border with Israel south of the Litani river. Last week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated calls for Hezbollah to give up its weapons, angering the group's leadership. The ceasefire agreement left vague how Hezbollah's weapons and military facilities north of the Litani river should be treated, saying Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorised facilities starting with the area south of the river. Hezbollah maintains the deal covers only the area south of the Litani, while Israel and the US say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon. Kassem said Hezbollah rejects a government vote over its weapons, saying such a decision should be unanimously backed by all Lebanese. 'No one can deprive Lebanon of its force to protect its sovereignty,' Kassem said. Hezbollah's weapons are a divisive issue among Lebanese, with some groups calling for its disarmament. The Israel-Hezbollah war started a day after the October 7 2023 Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza. It left more than 4,000 people dead and caused 11 billion dollars (£8.3 billion) of damage.
