Mother of Israeli hostage Matan Angrest shares 'shocking' details at Tel Aviv rally, former hostages plead for others to return

At a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest shared that her family had received additional footage of her son that showed him severely injured, both physically and mentally. Thousands gathered in the city and across the country to call on the government to negotiate the release of the remaining 59 captives.

Saturday night's rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square – the first since the suspension of hostage releases following the end of the initial Gaza ceasefire deal a week ago – also featured a video message from recently released hostage and soldier, Eliya Cohen. In his first public comments since his release last month, Cohen urged Israel's leaders to bring the remaining hostages home.

“We have an opportunity to return everyone. You successfully brought me back, you can bring back everyone. Those who are alive and the dead. There are people there sitting underground and are simply waiting to go home. There’s no reason in the world to continue dragging this out – not phase one, not phase two, and not phase three. Just get everyone out. Israel is strong enough to do this, and this is the time for our country to get everyone out," he urged.

Additionally, Karina Ariev, a surveillance soldier freed earlier in the deal, made her first appearance on stage at the rally. A day after Hamas released a video showing 21-year-old Matan Angrest alive for the first time since his capture during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Ariev addressed the crowd in person, saying, “The hostages must be above all else. First worry about them, and afterward all the rest.”

Speaking in Arabic, a language many hostages have learned during their captivity, she addressed those still held by Hamas in Gaza, encouraging them to "start hoping again, because we will bring you home.”

Matan’s mother Anat addressed the crowd of supporters. She revealed that the family had received even more "shocking" footage of her son, including images of him being subjected to a "brutal" beating.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) discovered audio recordings and photographic evidence indicating that Angrest was alive, along with materials showing the horrific conditions and abuse he had endured. They provided all of this information to the family.

Israel has been allowing the families to decide what information will be shared with the media and how it should be presented.

“He looks listless, desperate and angry,” Anat said of her son. “Beyond his difficult mental state, his right hand doesn’t work, his eyes and his mouth are not symmetrical, his nose is broken and there is serious uncertainty over the condition of his legs.”

She explained the injuries that Matan sustained were from the Oct. 7, 2023, battle with Hamas terrorists, as well as from torture and interrogation while being held in Gaza.

Like most hostages have reported, her son also was forced to endure the painful injuries and manage the untreated wounds on his own.

On Friday, Hamas published a propaganda video of Angrest pleading for his release, expressing that he had been informed of the deadlock in the negotiations and felt that the Israeli government was abandoning the hostages.

Israel says 59 hostages remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to still be alive. Since the beginning of the ceasefire, Hamas has freed 33 hostages – including eight who were killed – over the 42-day phase 1 of the hostage-ceasefire deal.

On Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that it was sending a negotiating team to Qatar for indirect talks with Hamas. This follows reports from Arabic media suggesting that the terror group may be open to agreeing to a temporary extension of the Gaza ceasefire during Ramadan, which began last week and will be finished on March 29.

Several speakers at the gathering in Hostages Square addressed U.S. President Donald Trump, thanking him for what he has done so far to help with the hostage release. However, recent revelations that Trump's administration has been in direct contact with Hamas have raised new concerns in Israel.

Alongside the rally for hostage release, an anti-government demonstration took place, echoing similar events held previously.

As reported by The Times of Israel, the anti-government protest drew around 2,000 participants, following an earlier demonstration at Habima Square that attracted about 250 activists. "The country is ours, not Netanyahu's," the protesters chanted, declaring, "It won’t end until Bibi is arrested."

Protesters were also addressed by Jon Polin, father of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Polin recited a prayer asking God to give Israel’s leaders “the commitment and determination to complete the deal, even at the price of ending the war.”

Meanwhile, at a rally on Begin Road, outside the IDF headquarters, police were accused of nearly causing a dangerous crowd crush by positioning officers and trucks that reportedly confined participants to a small area. According to Channel 12 News, several elderly individuals were almost trampled.

Police were also accused of beating demonstrators who attempted to bypass the barriers to leave the area, Channel 12 reported.

Social media footage showed some protesters crawling under the parked trucks – typically used for crowd control – to escape the scene. There was no immediate comment from police on the incident.