Einav Zangauker says if Edan Alexander goes free, her son Matan must go free, too

In a video addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, says, “My son Matan has been held in a tunnel together with the soldier who holds American citizenship, Edan Alexander, who is expected to be released first in any deal. According to medical information in my possession, Matan was kidnapped while likely suffering from a form of muscular dystrophy that affects most of our family members. Due to the harsh conditions of captivity and the stress he is under, we know his condition has deteriorated.”

She says Matan is “shackled in heavy chains, unable even to stand up in the tunnel that is lower than his height. He is going through a holocaust. There is serious concern for Matan’s well-being if he remains alone in the tunnel. The isolation will lead to further deterioration and will be a death sentence for Matan.”

Zangauker demands that “if there is a deal in which Edan is released, then Matan — who is held with him — must also be released. Matan will not survive alone, and he must be brought out. He is the most humanitarian case among the hostages. If Matan is abandoned to die alone in the tunnel, all of Israel will know that the prime minister deliberately chose to hand down a death sentence on a citizen who was kidnapped from his home in his pajamas — purely out of personal vengeance against his family.”