Hostage’s parents say Witkoff ‘cried’ at video of him, PM didn’t know he was wounded
Parents of Matan Angrest, after meeting with US envoy last week, tell silent protesters Netanyahu ‘isn’t fighting’ for the release of their captive, seriously hurt son
The parents of two hostages both said Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not fighting for their sons’ release, with one father comparing the prime minister’s apparent detachment to the emotional involvement of US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.
Matan Angrest, 22, a soldier who was abducted from a burning tank while battling terrorists on October 7, 2023, and Alon Ohel, 24, a civilian musician who was attending the Nova music festival when Hamas terrorists kidnapped him to Gaza, have been held in the terror group’s captivity for 557 days, having not been included in either of the two previous sets of hostage releases.
They are among 24 remaining hostages who are known or believed to be alive, while 35 have been confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces.
Anat Angrest, wearing her son’s army uniform and with her husband holding a blown-up version of his ID card, said Tuesday at an otherwise-silent protest by the Shift 101 group that the information they’ve received about Matan points to wounds that can’t be reversed, and that “despite that, the prime minister of Israel isn’t fighting for him.”
“I’m wearing his uniform to call attention to the fact that the soldiers haven’t been included in any deal — neither the wounded soldiers nor the bodies of soldiers, including Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held there for 10 and a half years,” she said at the demonstration, held in the northern town of Kiryat Motzkin.
The hostage’s mother was also wearing his uniform to mark one year since Matan was supposed to be released from mandatory military service, according to Haaretz.
“We demand from the Israeli government that in the next release of hostages, the soldiers will be returned — not because of US citizenship,” she said, referring to soldier hostage Edan Alexander, who is a dual Israeli-American citizen, “but because of their blue-and-white citizenship. They belong in Israel and need to be returned here.”
Matan’s father, Hagai Angrest, also spoke at the protest, which was attended by hundreds of people, according to Haaretz.
Hagai compared the reaction he apparently received last week from American Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, when he showed the Donald Trump adviser a video of his son’s abduction, to the emotionally detached reception he said he received from Netanyahu.
Referring to Witkoff, Angrest said, “He cried when I showed him the video of the lynching that Matan went through on the day of his abduction.”
“We know that Matan has also gone through aggressive interrogations, with electric shocks, but when we spoke with Netanyahu, he didn’t even know that Matan was wounded,” he said.
Hamas issued a propaganda video of Angrest in March, less than a week after his family published the first photo of him in captivity, from a previous video received from the terror group.
Anat Angrest told demonstrators last month she has another “shocking video” that the family has not yet released, saying, “He looks turned off, desperate, and angry. His right hand doesn’t work, his eyes and his mouth are not symmetrical, his nose is broken and there is serious uncertainty over the condition of his legs.”
At the time, the mother noted that her son’s wounds were a result of battle injuries sustained on October 7 and his interrogation and torture in captivity, adding: “Doctors say the damage to his body is irreversible.”
Idit Ohel: ‘Alon needs everyone’
Idit Ohel, the mother of hostage Alon Ohel, also spoke at the protest.
“Alon needs everyone. The journey to return him can’t be just mine as a mother. I am very proud of this nation that won’t give up on Alon and on the rest of our children,” she said, according to Haaretz.
Three Israelis who were released from captivity during a January-February hostage-truce deal brought with them the first news of Ohel since his abduction, telling his family that he was alive and that they had been held alongside him in Gaza.
The freed captives also informed the family that Ohel has had shrapnel stuck in his eye, shoulder, and arm since his abduction, that he is bound in chains, and that he has received almost no food.
Idit Ohel told The Times of Israel last week that her son’s wounds are life-threatening, and lamented the lack of movement toward his release while sharing details about his survival and resilience that she had learned from those who were held alongside him.
The Times of Israel Community.