Gaza, MINA – The military wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Friday in which captured Israeli soldier Matan Angrest warned that the only way to secure the 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’re starting to lose hope. We can’t see the end; we can’t see how this whole story ends,” Angrest, who was taken captive in the October 7 resistance operation, stated, Palestine Chronicle reported.
“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.
Angrest, who pointed out that he has been held for 511 days, said he has heard about the stages of the deal, “and it really does not matter to us captives.”
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“We just want to go home. Whether it’s a second phase, a third phase, or a first phase—you finish this story, they will release all the captives,” the soldier continued.
“I beg you, please—bring us back alive, not in a coffin. It’s 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.
Appealing to the released captives, Angrest stated, “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.” []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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