The mother of hostage Matan Angrest said the family received confirmation from released hostages that he is alive, speaking in an interview with Walla on Wednesday.
“We received a sign of life from the returned hostages. He seems to be injured and is being held under difficult conditions,” his father, Hagai Engerst, said.
“We are worried and hope the prime minister will expedite the second stage and bring him home,” his father urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Every second, there is a tangible danger to life. We saw the survivors of the October 7 massacre who were released, and in some cases, had they remained in captivity for another week, they might not have returned. His situation is even more challenging—he is a soldier. The responsibility for government crimes rests with Hamas; the responsibility for shortening the time frame and moving to the second phase rests with the prime minister,” he said.
Hamas kidnapped Matan, a soldier from a tank unit, alongside his fellow soldiers Itai Chen, Daniel Peretz, and Tomer Leibovitz, who were all killed in battle. Their bodies were also taken into Gaza. According to the Hostages’ and Missing Families Forum, Matan was critically injured when he was captured.
In September, a video surfaced showing Matan in captivity, where he addressed Netanyahu, urging him to secure his release. “Netanyahu, you must arrange a prisoner exchange between those in Israel and those here,” he said. “I believe you are capable of it; you just need to want it.”
Signs of life
Within the past week, multiple families of hostages have received confirmation that their loved ones are still alive in Gaza.
The aunt of Yosef-Chaim Ohana told Ynet on Wednesday that the family had received “a clear indication” that Ohana is alive, though she did not specify when.
On Tuesday, the family of hostages Ziv and Gali Berman, who were taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, also confirmed receiving the first signs that they are alive in captivity.
Additionally, the family of Omri Miran, taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, reported that one of the recently released hostages told them Omri was held in captivity until July.
Furthermore, the family of Alon Ohel, who recently marked his 24th birthday in captivity, received their first confirmation that he is alive on Sunday, according to testimonies from recently freed hostages.
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