The mother of Matan Angrest, 21, an IDF soldier who has been held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, revealed Saturday evening that she recently saw raw video footage found by IDF soldiers operating in the Palestinian enclave that showed her son.
"I am considered fortunate among the hostage families because I received proof of life from Matan in a video found by our soldiers in Gaza," said Anat Angrest at a rally in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
"In the video, my son Matan is seen looking injured at the camera and addressing you, prime minister. He shouts, 'Netanyahu, I don't understand how this happened, but I trust you to get me out of here.' How disappointed Matan must be, as the prime minister has not gotten you out of there, you were not mentioned at all in the first phase, and you are not being talked about in the next phase.
"The country you are fighting for has decided that you remain there. You are not a child because you are over 18, not a woman, not elderly and not chronically ill. You are 'just' a soldier who fought and was ready to sacrifice himself. So you remain there, in the tunnels, in the dark, injured, bleeding, who knows if you are still surviving.
"I appeal to you, Prime Minister Netanyahu, to remind you: Matan is a heroic soldier but, first of all, he is a child who grew up in Israel and its values, who gave me the title of mother 21 years ago. And you, Netanyahu, gave me the title of mother of a kidnapped child in hell nine months ago."
Matan's father Hagai said, "We are calling on the prime minister to be brave and bring all the hostages back. Continue discussing the second phase of the deal. Do not abandon them again."
"The video and proof of life from Matan have given us hope and a bit of air along the way. But every day in Gaza is hell—we must do everything to bring about a comprehensive deal and bring everyone home. We are exhausted," he added.
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Matan was kidnapped to Gaza while severely injured and unconscious. He was in a tank with Itay Hen and Daniel Perez, who were killed on October 7, and their bodies were taken to Gaza along with Tomer Leibovitz, who also fell in the fighting.
After Angrest, Hen's mother Hagit took the stage. "When Itay enlisted, he wanted to have a meaningful military service. My heart as a mother burst with pride; I worried about him, trusted him, trusted his commanders, visited him everywhere he was stationed, tried to ease his burden, but nothing prepared me for the nightmare my life has become over the past nine months. There must be a deal to bring back the men, the soldiers, those who are alive and those who are not. There must be a deal for all 120 hostages!" she said.
"Because any partial deal will leave our sons in Gaza forever. This must not happen, so we can have a country, so our sons can continue to protect it, so a mother is not afraid to send her son to the army, so a mother knows that if her son is kidnapped, the country will bring him back and not leave her broken and faithless."