Hostage families urge Netanyahu: All cases are humanitarian cases, bring them home

The time is right for a hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday during a meeting with families of hostages, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

On Saturday, Hamas released a video of hostage Matan Zangauker. It was the first sign of life from him since the October 7 massacre.

On Saturday night, Netanyahu spoke by phone with Zangauker’s mother, Einav, who has been vocal and active in protests pushing for an immediate deal.

The families called on Netanyahu to “act now to release all the hostages, alive and deceased; they are all humanitarian cases,” the forum said.

Netanyahu said he understands the hostages will return only through a negotiated deal, and that he is ready for a ceasefire to reach the goal of bringing them home, the forum said, adding: “What worked in the North will work in the South.”

Netanyahu reassured the families “that coalition considerations would not influence the hostage issue... Coalition considerations are nonsense,” the forum said.

Which families met with Netanyahu?

Netanyahu “mentioned several possible frameworks, though it wasn’t made clear to us which framework is currently being pursued,” the forum said. “Regarding the deceased [hostages], the prime minister promised that the return of bodies would be incorporated into different stages of the agreement, without compromising the return of living hostages.”

The families had been seeking a meeting with Netanyahu for months, the forum said.

Zangauker spoke with Netanyahu after seeing the video of her son. Hamas released a video of American-Israeli captive Edan Alexander a week ago.

“He did listen to me,” Einav Zangauker said. “He said he would do everything. But ultimately, after 10 minutes of speaking with the prime minister, I understand one thing: The government has no intention of reaching a comprehensive deal and ending the war.”

The families of hostages Omer Shem Tov, Yossi and Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Omri Miran, Tal Haimi, and Carmel Gat met with Netanyahu.

“The State of Israel is heading toward a partial deal in which only some of the hostages would return,” Zangauker said Sunday, adding that “unfortunately, this means it is sentencing Matan and everyone left behind to death.”

“When Matan spoke for the first time as I watched the video, I felt as though he was right in front of me,” she told FM103. “I wasn’t really listening to him; I was answering him and talking to him.

“I paid less attention to what he was saying because I so badly wanted to respond to him, to reassure him,” Zangauker said.

“What moved me the most was that Matan didn’t break. Although he lowered his gaze, he didn’t break,” she said. “Matan is strong, and it’s so moving to see him not break and so eager to come home. That’s the least we can do for him.”

“Physically, he looks very scared and terrified,” Zangauker said. “His lips are frozen, which I assume is due to fear. We know [the hostages’] captors don’t allow them to speak in a loud tone, so I think this might be the first time Matan himself has heard his own voice. My fear is that they won’t even survive the winter.”

Walla contributed to this report.