Hamas’ armed wing, the Azzedine al-Qassam Brigades, on Saturday released a video of an Israeli hostage being held in the Gaza Strip following an October 2023 Hamas attack.
In the three-and-a-half-minute undated video, which AFP could not verify, Matan Zangoukar says in Hebrew that he has been in captivity for more than 420 days and calls for public pressure on the Israeli government to secure his release. Of all the detainees held in Gaza.
Zangoukar, who was 24 at the time, was taken from the Nir Oz kibbutz along with his partner Ilana Gritzzewski. He was released during the ceasefire last year.
His mother, Einav Zangoukar, has been one of the most prominent figures in Israel to call on the government to negotiate a deal for the release of the hostages that would end the war.
Addressing himself to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said: “Just because Mutton is alive today does not mean that he will survive the winter or constant military pressure. The only way to bring Mutton back is a compromise.”
She said: “Netanyahu, I demand the following from you: Give the negotiating team full authority to bring a comprehensive agreement that will bring everyone back. A comprehensive agreement that will bring everyone back, even if it means ending the war No tricks, no excuses.”
The Forum of Families of the Hostages and the Missing, a campaign group for relatives of those abducted in Gaza, said the video was proof that the hostages are alive and that the “vital need” to ensure their release “grew with each passing hour and becomes more important”.
“The lives of these hostages are in danger,” the group said.
Critics have accused Netanyahu of stalling ceasefire talks and prolonging the war to appease his far-right coalition partners.
There have been massive and sustained protests in Israel since the early days of the war, demanding the government negotiate a hostage release deal with Hamas.
Large protests took place again in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, attended by Einav Zangaukar, as well as in other Israeli cities.
Palestinian militants abducted 251 people during their surprise attack, 96 of whom remain in Gaza, 34 of whom have been killed according to the Israeli military.
On Saturday, Qatar said “momentum is coming back” for the talks, while a source close to the Hamas delegation told AFP that a new round of talks would “probably” begin in the coming week.
Along with Cairo and Washington, Doha has been mediating talks for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement for more than a year, but without success.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
