Hostage’s mom says she got sign of life, calls ministers who oppose deal ‘evil people’ out for revenge
Cnaan Lidor is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter
The mother of a soldier who is presumed to be held hostage in Gaza calls cabinet ministers who oppose a deal with Hamas “evil people” who want soldiers to “keep dying” to satisfy their “desire for revenge.”
Anat Angrest, the mother of Staff Sgt. Matan Angrest, delivers this unusually harsh-worded message about cabinet ministers Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir and others from their parties in a speech to thousands attending the weekly rally for the hostages at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
Angrest also reveals that she has received a sign that her son was kidnapped alive, with troops finding a video of him filmed in Gaza after his capture.
“Wounded, he was facing the camera and addressing you, Mr. Prime Minister, saying: ‘Netanyahu, I don’t know how this happened but I’m counting on you to get me out of here,'” she says. The video is unknown to the public, though Angrest told Channel 12 last week that the family had recently seen raw footage found by IDF soldiers operating in the Strip around November that showed her son.
Addressing Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Anat Angrest says: “There’s a deal on the table and it’s only thanks to your bravery, because all that Hamas is asking for is that you stop and then we can bring them all back.”
She adds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “can do that, perhaps he even wants to, but there are also evil forces around him who know that your brother Matan is wounded and bleeding and his life is in danger but they don’t want to rescue him, they want you to continue to fight, to get wounded, to die, to open additional fronts only to fulfill their desire for revenge.”
Although she does not name Smotrich and Ben Gvir, her words are a clear reference to their threats to topple the government if Netanyahu agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas, which they say would leave the terrorists with an image of victory that would fuel future attacks and incentivize more abductions. Hamas is demanding assurances that the war will end as a condition for any deal on hostages.
“Until when will a vocal minority that places the sanctity of revenge over the sanctity of man be the voice deciding Matan’s fate?” Angrest asks.
