Relatives of hostages banned from showing videos of theirs in Knesset

MK Simcha Rothman on Monday refused two relatives of hostages to broadcast videos of theirs in captivity during a meeting of the Knesset Law, Justice and Constitution Committee, which he chairs.

These relatives of Sacha Trufanov and Matan Angrest, both hostages, had asked to broadcast videos of their relatives in front of the members of the commission, but Rothman told them that any broadcast had to be subject to prior agreement.

“How do you expect me to do otherwise, this is the only trace I have of my brother,” retorted Ofir Angrest, Matan’s brother, accusing the government of having abandoned the hostages.

As commission members begin to argue among themselves over the issue, Angrest took the opportunity to press play and hold his phone up to the microphone, momentarily amplifying his brother’s voice across the room.

Knesset security guards quickly approached him to turn off his microphone, although they were briefly dissuaded by Labor MK Naama Lazimi, who tried to block their path.

“I want you to hear my brother’s voice,” Angrest said.

“He doesn’t have all the time on his hands anymore, he needs you, why don’t you fight for him? » he questioned.

“He went into battle knowing he might die. Hamas kidnapped my brother in a tank. Where is the Israeli army? You abandoned my brother,” he said.

As committee members continued to bicker over Angrest, Rothman warned an opposition lawmaker, “I will not allow you to turn the hostages into a political event.”

Matan Angrest was on duty at the Nahal Oz base on the morning of October 7 when nearly 3,000 terrorists burst into Israel via land, air and sea, killing 1,200 people and destroying 251 hostages by engaging in acts of rare brutality and multiple sexual assaults.

His mother said a video found in Gaza by IDF soldiers showed him injured.

Rothman also refused to allow a video of Trufanov, who is in the hands of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to be broadcast. The terrorist group has released several propaganda videos showing it in recent weeks.

Yehiel Yehud, whose son Dolev was assassinated by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, and whose daughter Arbel remains captive in Gaza, along with her companion Ariel Cunio, was also present at the commission meeting .

During his speech before the commission, Yehud read aloud a letter he had written to his daughter, who had been in captivity for more than 400 days.

“Ma Arbeli, you are now in your second year of captivity since the terrorists kidnapped you, and they are holding you in difficult conditions,” he began. “Worry about your health is driving us crazy. It has been 409 days, my child, since I heard your voice and held you close to me with limitless love. “,

“Daughter, did you sleep last night? Are your captors brutalizing you? What do they make you do in exchange for a pita and a glass of water? Are you terrified of the noises around you? “, Yehud continued.

“I ask you to stay strong and optimistic, to not let them break your spirit. »

“Don’t give up, because as long as we know you have hope, it gives us strength for the fight, which focuses on the Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, who refuses to see you as his child, because he is afraid that his government will fall because of ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich,” Yehud said.

“They constantly make threats in public, while when I meet them, they promise to work for your release,” he added.

“Arbeli, know that the majority of the country’s citizens want your release,” Yehud said, turning his attention away from those he holds responsible for his daughter’s prolonged absence. “Know that people are working all over the world and in Israel for this. Don’t let it get you down, my love. We love you and we are waiting for you. »

An estimated 97 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 are still in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 hostages whose deaths were confirmed by the military. 105 civilians were freed during a week-long truce at the end of November, and four hostages were released before the truce. Eight hostages, including a female soldier, were rescued alive by Israeli forces, and the bodies of 37 hostages were also recovered, three of whom were mistakenly killed by the army in a tragic incident in December.

Hamas has also held the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, both of whom are believed to be alive after entering the Gaza Strip from on their own in 2014 and 2015 respectively.