Middle East updates: Israelis mark 700 days since October 7

Egypt said it would not "tolerate" mass displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

"Displacement means the liquidation and end of the Palestinian cause," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters in Nicosia, Cyprus, adding that there is no legal, moral or ethical ground to "evict people from their homeland."

Abdelatty went on to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — allegations Israel denies — saying the situation on the ground in the enclave is "far beyond the imagination."

This comes following quotes by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reiterated his support for so-called "willful immigration" of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, as presented by US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu told Israeli Telegram channel Abu Ali Express that he would allow Palestinians to leave Gaza but “they would be blocked by Egypt.”

"Egypt reiterates it will never be part of this injustice via the liquidation of the Palestinian cause and it will not be a gate for displacement. This is a red line that's not subject to change," Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

US President Trump had previously said people from Gaza will not have the right to return if they are relocated to other neighboring countries, pushing Egypt and Jordan particularly to take them in.

"No, they wouldn't [be allowed to return], because they're going to have much better housing," Trump told Fox News in February 2025. "I'm talking about building a permanent place for them."

UK Trade Minister Douglas Alexander suggested the UK must engage with Israeli as well as Palestinian authorities as part of its diplomatic push to end the war in Gaza.

Alexander told Sky News that diplomacy would involve "meeting people with whom you disagree." 

"I'm genuinely not sure in terms of what the schedule is," he said. "But I'd make a pretty basic point, first of all, diplomacy involves meeting people with whom you disagree and the British government has very strong views in terms of the present conduct of the government of Israel." 

"It is right that we are engaging with politicians from across the region, because the suffering is incalculable and it needs to stop," he added.

Alexander said that "in order to get to a path to that two-stage solution, of course you're going to have to be talking not just to the Palestinians but also to the Israelis."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog's expected trip to the UK next week, as reported by multiple media outlets, has sparked outrage in the country, with members of the governing Labour Party having expressed opposition.

It comes as the UK plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly later this month, should Israel fail to meet certain conditions that lead to a ceasefire.

The US State Department said in a statement it imposed sanctions on three Palestinian human rights groups, accusing them of having "directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel's consent."

The three groups added to the US sanctions list are: Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

"We oppose the ICC's politicized agenda, overreach, and disregard for the sovereignty of the United States and that of our allies," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the statement.

The court issued an international warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over allegations of war crimes in Gaza last year.

The Israeli government has denied the accusations and the US government has rejected the court's authority.

The ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide and other atrocities. Neither the US nor Israel are party to the court, which is the basis for the US and Israeli argument that both countries should not be subject to the court's authority.

The ICC has clarified that even though Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which is the first step to ICC membership, the court is acting based on the Palestinian territories' accession to the Rome Statute and the principle of territorial (rather than national) jurisdiction.

Lebanon's government held a meeting to discuss a US plan for a complete dismantlement of Hezbollah.

The Lebanese government asked the army in early August to prepare a plan to disarm the Iran-backed political party and militant group by the end of the month.

But Hezbollah's leadership has vowed not to disarm, saying the national government's decision to remove its weapons by the end of the year plays into Israel's interests.

Hezbollah earlier this week once again voiced its opposition to the plan, calling on Lebanese authorities to reverse their "unpatriotic" decision.

The Cabinet session came as the Israeli military intensified strikes on southern Lebanon over the last two days, which killed at least five people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry and the state-run National News Agency.

The Israeli military said it struck a high-rise tower in Gaza City, saying it was used by Hamas militants to carry out operations against Israeli forces. 

The military said in a statement earlier Friday it had "identified significant Hamas terrorist activity within a wide variety of infrastructure sites in Gaza City, and particularly in high-rise buildings."

"In the coming days, the [military] will strike structures that have been converted into terrorist infrastructure in Gaza City: cameras, observation command centers, sniper and anti-tank firing positions, command-and-control compounds," it added.

Less than an hour later, the military said in another statement it struck a high-rise in Gaza City, alleging that Hamas used it "to advance and execute attacks against [Israeli] troops in the area".

Israel launched its renewed offensive in Gaza City last week, attacking what the government calls the last bastion of Hamas.

An Israeli military spokesperson said Thursday that it controls about 40% of Gaza City, where about one million people were based prior to the latest offensive.

Residents in Gaza City said Israel struck several high-rise towers on Friday, Reuters news agency reported. 

Israel's Gaza City offensive is part of its larger military offensive on Gaza prompted by the October 7, 2023, terror attacks. Ongoing for nearly two years now, the offensive has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, as per local figures which the UN considers reliable.

Hamas released a video that showed two hostages being driven around Gaza City on Friday.

The militant group released the video as Israel stepped up its offensive to take over the city.

One captive, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, says in the video in Hebrew that he is in Gaza City and that the date of filming is August 28.

The video shows Gilboa-Dalal in a car in several locations in Gaza City, including outside the Red Crescent headquarters.

In remarks likely prescribed by his captors, he begs for his release.

"This is all we want, we just want it to end," he says in the video. “We want to return to our families. Please bring us back."

At the end of the video, a second captive, Alon Ohel, appears alongside Gilboa-Dalal in the car. The two appear surprised to see each other. 

Finland is joining a declaration on a peaceful resolution of the implementation of a two-state solution, the Nordic country said in a statement.

The declaration is the result of an international conference at the United Nations in July hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on the decadeslong conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event.

"The process led by France and Saudi Arabia is the most significant international effort in years to create the conditions for a two-state solution," Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen posted to X.

The first step outlined in the declaration is to end the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia and France have called on countries at the UN to support the declaration that outlines "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" toward implementing a two-state solution.

Unlike some other European nations, such as Spain and Norway, Finland has not recognized an independent Palestinian state. The Finnish coalition government is internally divided over formal recognition. 

Germany sees no need to escalate sanctions on Israel after imposing a partial arms embargo last month, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.

"We have stopped the delivery of weapons to Israel that could be used in the Gaza war," Wadephul told T-online news.

He said the move represented a "clear signal" to Israel, adding that he considered the decision to be "sufficient at this point in time."

Germany imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel last month that was prompted by the Israeli Cabinet's approval of a new offensive to occupy Gaza City.

The decision was significant as Germany has been one of Israel's strongest allies because of its historic responsibility rooted in the Holocaust. 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz cited the suffering of civilians in Gaza, saying his government remains concerned about the "ongoing suffering" of the civilian population in Gaza.

More than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-governed enclave. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tolls, but UN agencies consider the figures largely reliable and likely even to be an undercount.

A UN-backed food security monitor has declared famine in parts of Gaza. The US and Israel have rejected the report.

Israelis are holding protests across the country to mark the 700th day since Hamas, the militant group in control of the Gaza Strip, attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing at least 1,200 people and taking some 250 more people hostage.

Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and its allies have been calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate an end to the war and the return of the hostages.

While there have been regular demonstrations since the war began calling for the hostages' release, they have grown in intensity in recent weeks as many people voice opposition to the government's plan to retake Gaza City.

Senior military officials, including the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, have privately voiced opposition to Netanyahu's plan, according to media reports.

Military officials fear that Hamas could kill the remaining hostages. Hamas and its allies still hold about 50 hostages. The Israeli government believes that about 20 of them are still alive.

Families of hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza were gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Friday morning, calling for a negotiated end to the war in Gaza and the return of remaining hostages.

Demonstrators displayed a large "SOS" sign on the ground at the Hostages Square, while others gathered near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

At a press conference, released hostages also spoke to the public. Iair Horn, who was released in February and has since fought for the release of his brother, still in captivity, and the 49 hostages in Gaza, said:

"I have a million stories about what it's like to be in hell, to be in captivity," the Times of Israel quoted him as saying. "I can say 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."

"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," he added. 

We're continuing coverage of protests in Israel 700 days since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel that changed the region and the world.

Plus, the Israeli military has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza City, intensifying attacks on the outskirts of the city.

The operation forces nearly 1 million residents out of their homes, according to the UN. Top Israeli security officials have also reportedly disagreed with the country's political leadership over its decision to reoccupy Gaza City.