First photo of hostage soldier Matan Angrest released

(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) The family of hostage soldier Matan Angrest on Monday published the first photo of him from captivity, from a video received from Hamas.

The still photo joined an audio recording released several months back, in which Angrest begged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure his release, in comments likely dictated by his captors.

Angrest, 21, was taken from a tank at Nahal Oz during battles there on October 7, 2023.

“We demand the government of Israel implement all the stages of the [hostage release and ceasefire] deal, before we move to the next stage of the war,” his mother Anat said in a statement.

“We need to bring Matan, whose life is at risk, and all the hostages back home before we deploy more soldiers who will not return.”

Angrest’s family also said he was “undergoing hellish torments, torturous interrogations and is being held in inhuman conditions.”

The family also lamented that though he was seriously wounded when abducted to Gaza, he was not included in the “humanitarian cases” released in the first stage of the ceasefire agreement “because he’s an Israeli soldier.”

Angrest is among the 59 hostages still being held by terror groups in the Gaza Strip, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces.

Under the ceasefire outline agreed to by Israel and Hamas on January 19, the remaining living hostages were to be released during the second stage of the deal, during which the IDF would complete a full withdrawal from Gaza. A third stage is also planned, during which the bodies of hostages held by Gazan terror groups would be released, the war would end, and the reconstruction of Gaza would begin.

The 24 hostages presumed to be alive who are still held by Hamas: Top row, from left: Elkana Bohbot, Matan Angrest, Edan Alexander, Avinatan Or, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel. Second row, from left: Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Bipin Joshi, Rom Braslavski, Ziv Berman, Gali Berman. Third row, from left: Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Segev Kalfon, Nimrod Cohen, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn. Bottom row, from left: Matan Zangauker, Bar Kupershtein, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Tamir Nimrodi, Pinta Nattapong. (Hostages Families Forum)

Talks on the second phase were meant to begin on day 16 of the 42-day first phase which ended on Saturday night, but Israel has not engaged in indirect talks with Hamas on the topic and is instead conditioning the continuation of the ceasefire on a new framework extending the first stage, a demand the United States has backed.

The Prime Minister’s Office said early Sunday that Hamas has so far rejected this proposal, which it described as the plan of US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and implied that if this stance isn’t changed, Israel could resume the war against the Palestinian terror group that was sparked by the latter’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.