IDF apologizes for publishing video containing hostage abduction details without informing family

IDF spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari apologized on Friday to the family of hostage Matan Zangauker after the IDF published a video containing details of his abduction on October 7 without notifying and receiving approval from the family.

Hagari called Matan’s parents, Einat and Yaron, on Friday morning to personally apologize for the mistake and to assure them it was made due to human error.

Hagari told the country during an update, “This mistake happened in good faith. It’s a mistake that was born as a result of us being in a campaign, a global campaign, in order not to allow the world to forget what happened on October 7.”

He reassured the public that the IDF would always inform the family first of any new information about their loved ones and, in the future, would make sure to have received permission from them before publishing future videos.

The video was first published by the Daily Mail and was only later released to the Israeli media.

Father and son terrorists

In the video, Abdallah Radi (18) describes how he, his father, and his uncle came across Matan and how they were taken back to Gaza.

Radi is the same terrorist who talked about how he, his father, and his cousin had raped and murdered multiple women on October 7.

During the attack, the terrorists found Matan hiding among some trees and beat him before Radi took Matan away to help the terrorists find food.

Radi told the interrogators that Matan gave them coke, Nutella, and water, and then they took him outside, where more terrorists met them and took Matan into big jeeps carrying other hostages.

The Zangauker published a statement admonishing the IDF for allowing footage relating to their family member to be published without their consent. “Einav did not know the details of his kidnapping and certainly did not approve the publishing of the testimony itself.”

JPost