Hostage father says he’ll publish more images of son’s captivity to push for release

The father of hostage soldier Matan Angrest said Tuesday his family would publish more graphic images in their possession of his son’s captivity if the government does not make a greater effort to secure Matan’s release.

Speaking to Kan radio, Hagai Angrest said the decision to release an image Monday — the first of his son since he was captured by Hamas from a tank at Nahal Oz during battles there on October 7, 2023 — was made together by close family members and with great difficulty.

“We have no choice. The soldier who fought for his country deserves his country to fight for him. We have horrifying footage that, if there’s no choice, we will use to shock the whole country,” he told Kan.

“Matan’s face is completely broken, the boy is completely broken, and that is only his face,” he said, adding that his son is relying on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to save him.

“We have raw evidence that what he is going through is not simple. We are trying to do everything to save him.”

The still photo joined an audio recording released several months back, in which Angrest begged Netanyahu to secure his release, in comments likely dictated by his captors.

Angrest is among the 59 hostages still being held by terror groups in the Gaza Strip, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces.

The ceasefire’s first phase — which lapsed Saturday —  saw 33 Israeli hostages returned, eight of them dead, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including many convicted terrorists serving hefty jail sentences. Five Thai nationals held hostage in the Gaza Strip were freed separately during that period.

While Israel said it backed an extension of the first phase until mid-April — including the release of the remaining 59 hostages in two batches toward the beginning and end of the Ramadan and Passover holidays that run through March and until April 19 — Hamas has accused Israel of violating the original deal and has insisted on continuing on to the second stage.

Angrest on Tuesday also blamed Netanyahu for barring October 7 victims from the Knesset plenum, decrying Monday’s scenes when Knesset guards violently prevented bereaved families and relatives of captives from entering the visitors’ gallery to watch a debate on probing the October 7 catastrophe and a speech by the premier.

אלימות מופנית כלפי משפחות שכולות ומשפחות חטופים שרוצות לצפות בדיון בכנסת על ועדת חקירה ממלכתית. pic.twitter.com/O4Z6J6yyLF

— דפנה ליאל (@DaphnaLiel) March 3, 2025

“People who hit an old person are unfit to wear the uniform of the security establishment at all. They should be ostracized from Israeli society,” he said.

Angrest said both he and his father were injured in the chaos: “My face hurts. I don’t know how I got hit, I was busy defending my father. Today, he went for X-rays to check what happened to his hand.”

“What hurts most is that my son is there. It doesn’t interest me that I got hurt. They simply continue with their normal routine; they are not worthy of the citizens of this country,” Angrest said, referring to government members, who have been repeatedly accused by some hostage families of being detached and not taking responsibility for the failures that led to their loved ones being captured.

“We hear stories from people in the tunnels. Where are they? We are talking about saving lives,” he said.