After families of fallen hostages said it was like "an arrow to the heart" to hear the U.S. president speak about their loved ones, Donald Trump said last night (Friday): "There are more than 30 bodies in the negotiations. We are holding talks to get them out — the parents want them so much — as if they were alive. It’s a sad situation".
Trump repeated his statement that "better things will happen" for Hamas if it releases the hostages: “If they don’t come out — it will be a tough situation. Nasty. That’s my opinion". He added that It is Israel’s choice: "The negotiations are happening right now".
For more than a month, families of hostages have been fighting against the cabinet’s decision to “take control” of Gaza City, a move they say endangers the lives of their loved ones. The IDF insists it has a general sense of where the hostages are held, But in footage released by Hamas yesterday, Guy Gilboa-Dalal is seen apparently being transported in a vehicle through Gaza’s streets — an area where the army is expected to step up operations in the coming weeks.
"In recent days, families of hostages have received phone calls from official sources. I can tell you with certainty — the Israeli government is working to prepare the ground for another murder of the hostages", said Yishai Miran-Lavi yesterday, the wife of hostage Omri Miran. "This is not a theory, this is not a fear, this is coming from official and senior figures", she added.
Amid these grave concerns, video footage of Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ahel was released yesterday morning. In the clip, Gilboa Dalal is seen riding in a vehicle and says that he is being filmed in Gaza City on August 28, 2025. His family permitted the release of short excerpts, in which he can be heard saying: "All we want is for this to end. We want to return to our families. Please, bring us back".
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the families of the hostages but stressed: "No vile propaganda video will weaken our resolve or divert us from our determination to achieve the war’s objectives".
Alon Ahel
Until yesterday, the family of Alon Ahel had relied mainly on testimonies. The gifted pianist, abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, had not appeared in any Hamas video — until the footage released yesterday, in which he is seen alongside Guy Gilboa-Dalal. His family said last night that an analysis of the video indicates he is not able to see with his right eye.
Yosef Chaim Ohana
The last recorded sign of life from the young man from Kiryat Malakhi, who was also abducted from the Nova festival, was received on May 10. He appeared alongside Elkana Buchbut, a few days after Hamas released videos of Buchbut alone. On March 24, days after fighting resumed in the Gaza Strip, the first video of Yosef Chaim was published. Before that, his family had been informed by freed hostages in the previous deal that he was alive.
Yosef chaim Ohana and Elkana Buchbut
Avinatan Or
Avinatan was last seen on the day of his abduction, when he was separated from his partner, Noa Argamani, who was rescued in the Arnon operation in June of last year. No video sign of life has been received from him, but this past March, after the most recent hostage deal ended, a sign of life did reach his family. They were told he is being held in central camps under harsh conditions. His brother said at the time: "Our goal is to get Avinatan back — not just signs of life".
Rom Breslavsky
The last recorded sign of life from Rom Breslavsky was received on August 1, in a video released by Islamic Jihad. The Gaza Strip’s second-largest terror group, which is holding Rom and has held several hostages during the war, had claimed a week and a half earlier that contact with him had been lost. Three days later, his family published parts of the video, in which he appeared in poor condition. Since then, his parents have cried out that he looked to be dying. "I can’t manage to live", Rom said in the video - where he appeared significantly thinner compared to an earlier video of him.
Rom Breslavsky
Matan Angrest
The last sign of life from armored corps soldier Matan Angrest was received on March 7, about six months ago. In the video released by Hamas, he appealed to his family, to government ministers — and even to U.S. President Donald Trump. "I want to ask you to block the roads, go out on the streets, and not give up on us", Matan said in the video. Since then, his family has published additional footage of him found in Gaza - including images from the moments of his abduction, predating Hamas’s video.
Matan Angrest
Gali and Ziv Berman
No video-recorded sign of life has been received from the twins from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. However, during the last hostage deal in February, their family announced that they had received a sign of life from Gali and Ziv. “We know whose hands they are in – and how much danger their lives are in", said their aunt, Makavit. She added that the brothers were being held separately.
Elkana Buchbut
The last recorded sign of life from Elkana Buchbut, a resident of Mevaseret Zion who was abducted from his job at the Nova festival while his wife Rivka and their 5-year-old son Re'em were at home, was received on May 10. In the video, Elkana is seen lying on a mattress, wrapped in a blanket, with a photo of himself and his son beside him. Next to him is Yosef Chaim Ohana. Prior to that, several videos of Elkana had been released, including some in which he appeared alone, "speaking on the phon"” to his family members. In another, he is seen crying and begging to be freed from captivity.
Elkana Buchbut
Guy Gilboa-Dalal
The last recorded sign of life from Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who was abducted from the Nova music festival, was received yesterday. In the video, Guy is seen filmed in Gaza City, ahead of the planned IDF operation there. His family released short excerpts of the footage, in which he says: "All we want is for this to end. We want to return to our families. Please, bring us back". Guy had previously appeared in a particularly harrowing video, during the release of the hostages Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Elia Cohen. He and his friend Evyatar David were brought in a car to "watch" their friends being freed in a Hamas-staged ceremony.
Evyatar David
The last recorded sign of life from Evyatar David, who was abducted from the Nova music festival, was received on August 2. In that footage, Evyatar appeared malnourished and in grave danger. The first clip released showed him signaling what he had eaten and when. The following day, Hamas released a particularly distressing video in which Evyatar was forced to dig his own grave. "I don’t eat, there’s barely any water", he says in the video filmed from a tunnel. "I’m getting thinner and weaker by the day. There’s no meat, no chicken, no fish, hardly any bread to eat". Since then, Evyatar has not appeared in any Hamas videos, and his condition remains unclear — including whether he received food after Israel resumed unrestricted aid deliveries.
Evyatar David
Eitan Horn
The last recorded sign of life from Eitan Horn, who was abducted together with his brother Yair — since released — was received on March 1. He is seen parting from Yair at the moment his brother was freed from captivity. Also visible in that video is the hand of Nimrod Cohen, who was held with them. "It makes no sense in any way to separate families. Release everyone. Don’t destroy all our lives", Eitan says in the footage. "I don’t know how I’m speaking calmly right now. My brother is leaving and saved, and I stay here and have to hear that you don’t want to move forward with phase B. Have you gone mad?".
Maxim Herkin
The last recorded sign of life from Maxim, who was abducted from the Nova music festival, was received this past May. He appeared in a video alone, which has not been cleared for publication. In July, however, his family authorized the release of footage from April showing him together with Bar Kopperstein. "We are dying here with a pulse, no longer feeling human", the two said in a short excerpt published by the Hostages’ Families Forum. "We are 30 meters und erground".
Nimrod Cohen
No filmed sign of life from Nimrod has been received showing his face. Survivors of captivity reported being held with him for several months, and in video footage of Yair Horn, Nimrod’s arm appears, though his face was blurred. "It’s easy to recognize Nimrod by his arm — he got that tattoo just days before he was abducted", his father said upon identifying him in March. Since then, the family has released new documentation from the moments of his abduction, showing him being taken into Gaza by militants, who told him he would eventually return.
Segev Calfon
No filmed sign of life has been received from Segev. However, the family of the young man from Dimona, abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, did receive indications he was alive - among them from Ohad Ben Ami, who was freed in the most recent deal. Last July, Segev’s mother Galit shared details passed on to her by Ohad: "He said Segev’s condition was very serious. He really emphasized that. Shegev looked up to him as a father figure - he would even hold his hand at night. Segev’s group was held in the harshest conditions in Gaza. He entered captivity already post-traumatic".
Eitan Mor
No filmed sign of life has been received from Eitan. Still, following the last hostage release deal, his family learned he was alive — through a freed hostage who saw him. "He is the spokesperson of the hostages to their captors", his parents, Tzvika and Efrat, said in a ynet interview last May. "That freed hostage was the only one who saw Eitan. Everything we imagined - how he would conduct himself in captivity - is exactly what is happening. That was early on in captivity, but we are sure it continues that way".
Omri Miran
The last recorded sign of life from Omri was received on April 23. Hamas released a video of him on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day — the second filmed sign of life after another was published in April 2024, showing him together with Keith Siegel. The timing of the release deeply shocked his family, who described the pain of seeing footage of Omri from a tunnel on such a date.
Matan Zangauker
The last filmed sign of life from Matan Zangauker surfaced several months ago in video footage seized by the IDF, believed to have been recorded while he was held with Idan Alexander. In the video, Matan addresses his sisters, his partner, and his mother: "Go out, make noise as only you know how - and with God’s help we’ll see each other soon". It was the second filmed sign of life from him, after Hamas released earlier distressing footage. When Idan Alexander was freed, Matan’s mother Einav said she received direct confirmation her son was still alive.
Matan Zangauker
Ariel Cunio
No filmed sign of life has been received from Ariel. As far as is known, his family has not received updates from freed hostages who were with him in captivity. Still, Israeli officials have assessed that Ariel is alive. He is the partner of Arbel Yehud, who was abducted by Islamic Jihad. His brother, David, is also in captivity.
David Cunio
No filmed sign of life has been received from David. His wife, Sharon Aloni-Cunio, who was herself abducted along with their two daughters, Yuli and Emma, was informed in February — following the most recent deal — that her husband is alive. While David remains in captivity, his young daughters celebrated their fourth birthday. As they blew out the candles on their cake, they wished for their father’s return from captivity.
Bar Kuperstein
A filmed sign of life from Bar was received last April. The 23-year-old, abducted from the Nova festival where he worked as a security guard, appeared in a video alongside Maxim Herkin. "We are dying here with a pulse, we no longer feel human", the two said in the footage. Bar’s father, Tal, was severely injured in a car accident and became dependent on care. Since the abduction, he has fought for Bar’s return - and has only recently regained his ability to speak. "He helped the wounded when the terrorists arrived,", Tal recounted. "He drove back into the massacre zone four times on a ranger, when he could have fled. He chose to return. He took a weapon from fallen police officers and fought the terrorists".
Bar Kuperstein and Maxim Harkin
Tamir Nimrodi
Tamir, abducted from the Gaza District Coordination and Liaison office (DCL), is classified as a hostage whose life is at risk. Since his abduction on October 7, no filmed sign of life has been received from him, nor any other indication. He was seen being taken with two colleagues from the base he served at - Nick Beizer and Ron Sherman, who were both returned for burial in Israel. His family viewed footage of his abduction, in which he is seen being led away on foot, barefoot and in pajamas.
Bipin Joshi
Bipin, from Nepal, is classified as a hostage whose life is at risk. He hid with friends in a shelter and managed to push away a grenade thrown in by the terrorists. A second grenade then exploded, leaving him and his friends unconscious. After the abduction, Bipin was documented alive, being taken through Shifa Hospital by Hamas gunmen. In May, Israeli officials confirmed concern for his life. Last month, his family arrived in Israel, and his sister spoke at Hostages Square