Hostage families express alarm as IDF moves into area where captives are believed held

Ofir, the brother of kidnapped soldier Matan Angrest, speaks during an Economic Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Ofir, the brother of kidnapped soldier Matan Angrest, speaks during an Economic Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum expresses alarm amid reports the IDF has moved into the central Gaza area of Deir al-Balah for the first time, saying that the move endangers the captives who are believed held in these areas.

“The families of the hostages are shocked and alarmed by these reports,” the forum says in a statement.

“The families demand that the prime minister, defense minister, chief of staff, and IDF spokesperson appear before them and the Israeli public this evening to clearly explain why the offensive in the Deir al-Balah area does not put the hostages at serious risk,” they say. “As of this moment, we have received no official, organized updates or satisfactory answers on this matter.”

“The people of Israel will not forgive anyone who knowingly endangered the hostages — both the living and the deceased. No one will be able to claim they didn’t know what was at stake,” the forum says.

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