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A sign of life from an additional captive—not included on the list scheduled for release in the first phase of the hostage deal—has been received from captive Eitan Mor hours after his father told ynet in an interview that he had been given no new information about his son's condition from hostages that were released.
“We should have blown up the deal at the first breach," Mor said. It seems to me that on Saturday the three hostages will be released; then will Israel break the deal? No. I think Hamas does not want to get too entangled with Trump—they’re driving us crazy, and in the end, they will do what is necessary.”
Mor said an opportunity was lost. "We should have shown Hamas that we are not suckers. Shut off the water, the trucks—everything—and Hamas would have chased after us. But we did not do that. We delayed and waited for the uncle from America to tell us what needed to be done—and in doing so, we lost our authority here.”
Earlier on Wednesday evening, Hagai Angerst, the father of the captured soldier Matan Angerst, said that his family received a sign of life from him through hostages who were released in the most recent rounds. Reports that an armored soldier is alive—but is being held injured under harsh conditions—were received half a year after he was seen in a psychological terror video found in Gaza.
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In a Ynet studio broadcast on Wednesday morning, the aunt of hostage Yosef Haim Ohana reported for the first time that a sign of life was also received from him. “We have clear evidence that he is alive,” said Aunt Hana Mastorov. “There are signs of life indicating that he is alive.”
Since the massacre on October, families of hostages have tended to hide receiving signs of life from their loved ones—mainly due to requests from security officials who believed that revealing such information might endanger those held in captivity. Even the documentation with signs of life published by Hamas, seemingly dictated to the hostages as to what to say, was not always made public at the request of the families.
However, since the beginning of the current deal, a little over three weeks ago, several families have received updates with signs of life from hostages still held by Hamas—understanding that only in this way can they hope to bring everyone home. Unlike the Hamas documentation that included signs of life, this time the updates came through hostages released as part of the deal, who shared with their families information about the condition of their loved ones in captivity.