Mother of hostage releases video of abduction to Gaza following Oct 7 invasion

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, released a short video on Tuesday showing her son being taken by two terrorists in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. 

The footage shows Matan riding a motorcycle between two terrorists in a crowded area on the outskirts of Khan Younis, with the sounds of the jubilant crowd in the background. It is believed that this documentation is from the first days following the abduction.

Einav received the video over the weekend and said she argued for hours with Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the coordinator of the Hostages and Missing Soldiers, about the need to release it publicly. 

According to Hebrew site Davar, Zangauker demanded that the video be released in order to remind the people of Israel, the prime minister, and other decision makers that there are living hostages who can still be saved from Hamas. 

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Along with the video, which was reportedly recovered by the IDF during operations in Gaza, Einav also received her son’s telephone, which still contained his final messages with the family on Oct. 7. 

Matan was abducted from his home in Nir Oz, where he lived with his partner, Ilana Gritzewsky, who was also abducted. Ilana was freed during the hostage ceasefire deal in late November. 

In the messages between Matan and his family, which were exchanged over several hours, Matan described the unfolding situation. 

At one point, he wrote to his mother, asking, “Is the IDF attacking? Is the IDF in the [attacked Israeli] communities?” 

She replied that there were not enough forces in the communities, telling him, “The most important thing is not to go out.” 

At 10:08 a.m., Matan wrote his last message to his mother, “There are people here, they are trying to get in.” 

While Zangauker was initially supportive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Oct. 7 invasion and attack, she has become increasingly critical of his handling of the hostage situation. After the video was released, she called on Netanyahu to approve the hostage deal without any more changes. 

“Netanyahu, abductees are dying in captivity,” Zangauker said. “There's a deal on the table, it's inconceivable that the mother of a kidnapped person has to beg you to agree to a deal you've already approved. For once, put the public and national interest above your political and personal interest.” 

Zangauker also responded to Netanyahu’s comment from Monday, in which he said, “The conditions to get them back are ripening.” 

“Even a ripe fruit on a tree, most of the time because it’s too ripe, falls on the ground and rots,” she responded. 

The release of the video depicting Matan came shortly after Israel confirmed the deaths of two other hostages in Gaza: Alex Dancyg and Yagev Buchstab. 

Zangauker was also interviewed by Israel's Radio 103FM on Wednesday morning about her decision to release the video. 

"The people of Israel must see that Matan was kidnapped alive and everything should be done to bring him back alive,” she said in the interview.

“I'm not ready to be the one to receive the news of Job [the biblical figure] and be told that Matan was killed by fire from the IDF or was murdered by his captors.”