Eight days following Matan Angrest's return home after his release from Hamas captivity, his mother, Einat, was interviewed on Kan 11 on Tuesday and disclosed new details regarding her son's days in captivity. Angrest was abducted from his tank on October 7, 2023 and was returned following the conclusion of the hostage deal with Hamas in early October, after more than 730 days of captivity.
Enat Angrest revealed that the terrorists debated whether it was "worth keeping him alive or giving up on him" because of his severe injury. In a video the family released from October 7, Angrest is shown being extracted from the tank, bent and kneeling on the ground, his military shirt pulled up and his chest exposed, being guided and held by terrorists.
Angrest added that the terrorists informed Matan they saw her on television and that she was "very dominant in the struggle" to bring him home. "Matan didn't know that an entire nation was crying and waiting for them. He believed there was a protest here and a protest there. He wasn't aware of the intensity of the publicity."
She also stated her son told her "I did what was expected of me as a soldier" and that he is proud of his decision to fight that morning, and that he considered the possibility he would be abducted.
Earlier, Matan and Einat met with President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Special Envoy for Middle East Steve Witkoff. They presented Witkoff with a photograph from Kiryat Bialik Mayor Eli Dukorsky of the city's soccer stadium that will be named after Trump. Matan is a resident of the city.
