Hostage’s mother says nearly 60 families have seen unpublicized footage of their loved ones

Einav Zangauker, who last night publicized brief footage of her son Matan in Gaza, apparently filmed soon after he was abducted on October 7, says “almost 60 families” have seen footage of their loved ones from when they were abducted or early in their captivity and that they should all be allowed to publicize the material if they want to as part of the struggle for their release.

She tells Army Radio that she had to wage a lengthy battle with the authorities for permission to show the brief clip of Matan — including sleeping overnight one night last week at the offices of the government’s point man for the hostages, Gal Hirsch, while she pressed the issue.

She says Nitzan Alon, the general overseeing the hostage negotiations on behalf of the IDF, helped her secure permission to show the footage and dealt with concerns raised by other officials regarding the security implications of showing it.

מובל על אופנוע בידי מחבלים – לקול ההמון הצוהל: תיעוד חדש של מתן צנגאוקר מהשביhttps://t.co/qjEHpjYZyB | @michalpeylan pic.twitter.com/LM5VQulvri

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) July 23, 2024

Zangauker says showing the footage of hostages in Gaza is part of the public struggle for a deal for the release of the hostages, and that the Israeli public has the right to know if hostages are alive, were killed in error by the IDF in Gaza, were killed by their captors, or died because of the conditions of their captivity.

Zangauker says it is obvious that Hamas wants a deal. Otherwise, she says, it could execute the hostages. She says Israel has also moved a long way toward a deal. But, she charges, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is blocking it. Only Netanyahu, she says, “won’t use the ink to sign.”

She says she hopes Netanyahu, in his speech to Congress today, will tell the hostages “don’t lose hope,” and will promise to bring them home. “There is no security reason” not to do a deal, she says.