On September 5, 2025, Hamas released a rare, chilling video showing two Israeli hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel, being driven through the battered streets of Gaza City. The footage, filmed on August 28, offers a glimpse not only into the captives’ harrowing ordeal but also into a city gripped by relentless conflict and humanitarian crisis. As Israeli military operations intensify, the video appears calculated to sway Israeli public opinion and increase pressure on the government to negotiate a ceasefire.
The video, geolocated by CNN to various locations in Gaza City—including outside the Red Crescent headquarters—shows Gilboa-Dalal, visibly shaken, discussing his 22 months in captivity. He pleads for his government to bring him home, voicing fears for his life and those of eight other hostages he claims are still held in the city. “I heard that you’re going to carry an assault on Gaza City, and this idea is giving me nightmares. What does it mean? It means we’ll die here,” he says, directly addressing Israeli leaders and the public. The clip also captures a poignant moment when Gilboa-Dalal is unexpectedly joined by Ohel. The two embrace, with Gilboa-Dalal repeating, “I can’t believe I’m seeing you.”
The timing of the video’s release was no accident—it coincided with the 700th day of the war, a milestone marked by widespread protests across Israel. Demonstrators called for a ceasefire deal that would secure the release of all hostages. Yet, the Israeli government remains steadfast, continuing its offensive in Gaza City despite mounting objections from hostage families, the international community, and even some within its own military.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that he will accept nothing less than a comprehensive agreement that sees all hostages freed and Hamas disarmed. In conversations with families of the hostages, he stated that no video “will weaken us or divert us” from achieving Israel’s war goals. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, representing relatives of those still held in Gaza, responded with a pointed statement: “Anyone who truly wants to bring back all 48 hostages—whether for rehabilitation or proper burial—must immediately send the negotiating team to the negotiating table.” They also criticized the government’s strategy, arguing, “There is a deal on the table—this is what will bring back the last hostage, this is what will end the war.”
The humanitarian cost of the Israeli offensive is mounting rapidly. On September 4-5, the Israeli military began levelling high-rise buildings in Gaza City, including the 12-storey Mushtaha Tower. According to reports from Palestinian news agency Wafa, 44 people were killed across the enclave during these strikes, with at least seven children among the dead. Three people were killed in the Sarah neighbourhood, and another three in al-Rimal al-Janoubi. The overnight bombings left scenes of devastation: doctors and aid workers rushed bloodied and burned children to hospitals, while bodies were brought to Al-Shifa Hospital for burial preparations.
Health authorities in Gaza City described a night of terror, with families trapped as bombs rained down. One firefighter recounted saving a mother and her two children from a burning house, their bodies charred by flames. “I have not and will not be able to overcome this situation for the rest of my life, and the screams of the mother and her children will continue to echo in my mind,” he told CNN.
UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram, following a nine-day visit to Gaza City, painted an equally bleak picture. She described the city as a place of “fear, flight and funerals,” warning that “the last refuge for families in the northern Gaza Strip is fast becoming a place where childhood cannot survive.” Ingram called for an immediate end to the offensive, urging, “We must do everything in our power to prevent it.”
Despite the devastation and international condemnation, Israel’s military has pressed on. As of September 4, Israeli forces controlled 40% of Gaza City and more than 70% of the entire Gaza territory, according to military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin. The operation is expected to “expand and intensify” in the coming days. The Israeli military has warned that high-rise buildings would be targeted, and the flattening of Mushtaha Tower has made good on that promise.
The offensive has also displaced tens of thousands. Out of approximately one million Palestinians living in Gaza City, only 70,000 have evacuated so far—a figure representing less than 10% of the population. For many, the decision to stay is born of exhaustion and despair. Sabhi al-Rantisi, a resident of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, described a harrowing night as nearby houses were bombed. His wife and children fled, but he remains. “It was a very difficult night,” he said. Abu Yasser Al-Khour, a father of six, echoed this sentiment: “I am staying in my home and will not be displaced again, until my last breath, even if it means death, because we are exhausted from displacement.”
Life for those who remain in Gaza City is becoming increasingly precarious. Al-Khour described dire shortages of water, medicine, and cash. His work as a driver has vanished, and he, like most of the city’s inhabitants, faces the daily struggle of survival. “Life in displacement is unbearable, fetching water, collecting wood for cooking. In summer we die from heat, in winter we die from cold. In every case, death in my own home is better than displacement,” he said.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has warned that the ongoing assault increases the risk to hostages, as the Israeli military lacks precise information about their locations. Families were briefed on this heightened danger on September 5, intensifying calls for negotiations rather than military escalation.
Meanwhile, the conflict’s repercussions have spilled beyond Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, settler attacks in Khallet al-Dabaa, south of Hebron, injured 20 Palestinians, including a three-month-old baby, underscoring the broader instability gripping the region.
Internationally, the offensive has drawn sharp criticism. Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, condemned what she described as Europe’s failure to prevent a “genocide” in Gaza. Her remarks, delivered in Paris, marked the first time a senior EU official has used such language about the conflict. Israel’s foreign ministry swiftly rebuked Ribera, calling her comments “baseless allegations” and accusing her of serving as a “mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda.”
As the Israeli military closes in on Gaza City, the situation grows increasingly desperate for both the hostages and the civilian population. With humanitarian conditions worsening and the risk to captives rising, the calls for a negotiated solution have become more urgent than ever. Yet, with both sides holding firm to their demands, the path to peace remains heartbreakingly elusive.