Hamas armed wing releases video of Gaza hostage

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Saturday of an Israeli hostage held in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.

In the undated, three-and-half-minute video that AFP has not been able to verify, Matan Zangauker 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 the release of all captives held in Gaza.

Zangauker, who was 24 at the time, was taken from Nir Oz kibbutz along with his partner, Ilana Gritzewsky. She was released during a truce last year.

His mother, Einav Zangauker, has been one of the most prominent figures in Israel calling for the government to negotiate a hostage release deal that would end the war.

Addressing herself to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she said: “That Matan is still alive today does not mean he will survive the winter or the continuing military pressure. The only way to bring Matan back is with a deal.”

She added: “I demand the following from you, Netanyahu: give full mandate to the negotiating team to bring a comprehensive deal that will bring everyone back. A comprehensive deal that will bring everyone back, even if it means ending the war. No tricks, no excuses.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a campaign group for relatives of those abducted to Gaza, said the video was evidence that hostages remained alive and that “the critical need” to secure their release “becomes more urgent with each passing hour”.

“These hostages’ lives hang by a thread,” the group said.

Critics have accused Netanyahu of stalling truce negotiations and prolonging the war to appease his far-right coalition partners.

There have been large and frequent protests in Israel since the early days of the war calling for the government to negotiate a hostage release deal with Hamas.

On Saturday night there were again major protests in Tel Aviv, which Einav Zangauker attended, as well as other Israeli cities.

Palestinian militants kidnapped 251 people during their surprise attack, of whom 96 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

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 negotiations will “most likely” begin in the coming week.

With Cairo and Washington, Doha has been mediating negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal for more than a year without success.

–– By © Agence France-Presse