GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, released a video on Friday in which Israeli soldier Matan Angrest affirmed that the only way to secure the remaining captives’ release is through advancing to the second stage of the ceasefire and exchange agreement.
“We feel that the army, state, and government abandoned us … We are starting to lose hope. We cannot see the end; we cannot see how this whole story ends,” Angrest, who was taken captive in the October 7 resistance operation, said.
“I want to tell the army: you will not succeed in bringing us back by military force. The only way to bring us home is through an exchange deal and moving to the second phase,” he emphasized.
“We just want to go home. Whether it is a second phase, a third phase, or a first phase —you finish this story, they will release all the captives,” the soldier added.
“I beg you, please — bring us back alive, not in coffins. It is not easy here; there is no sun. The winter cold is taking its toll on us. The food and treatment here are like that for a soldier, not like that for a civilian captive,” he said.
“I ask you, those captives who have returned home, do not leave us here to rot in captivity — fight for us. You know what we have been through here, and what we are still enduring,” Angrest said, appealing to the released captives.
The soldier also addressed US president Donald Trump, urging him to pressure the Israeli government to secure an agreement with the Hamas Movement.
“You are the only one who has the power to influence Netanyahu and the government and truly push for this deal,” he said.
Recently, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced its agreement to a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire during the current holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover (April 12-20). The US plan includes the release of half of the Israeli captives held in Gaza.
However, the Hamas Movement dismissed the plan, calling it an attempt to sabotage the original three-phase agreement that includes a permanent end to the Israeli war and a complete military withdrawal from Gaza.
