Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Avera Mengistu after he was freed from Hamas captivity today, says Netanyahu’s office.
“I am moved and embrace you, and the entire people of Israel are moved with me and embrace you today,” says Netanyahu in what his office calls a “warm and moving conversation.”
Mengistu, then 28, entered Gaza from the Zikim beach in September 2014. His family had not heard from him since his abduction until a Hamas video purported to show him alive in early 2023. He spent 3,821 days in captivity.
Netanyahu thanks Mengistu’s family for continuing to fight for his release, and for not losing hope, and laments the length of time Mengistu was held captive. He promises to help in Mengistu’s rehabilitation process.
According to the PMO, the family thanks Netanyahu for their son’s return.
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