Tel Aviv
CNN
–
According to Zangauker’s family, Edan Alexander, a newly released Israeli hostage, provided new information about Israeli hostage Matan Zangarkar, confirming that he is suffering from serious weight loss, stomach pain and mental distress.
Zangauker was held by Hamas along with Alexander from October 7, 2023 until Alexander was released last week, Zangauker’s family said in a statement. The family said they learned about Zangerker’s condition after Alexander’s release.
Zangauker, 25, has been in “severe mental distress” for the past few months, refusing to speak or eat, even after Hamas has begun to feed Zangarker and Alexander more in recent months.
The family also said Zangerkar, one of at least 20 living hostages, is one of the hostages still holding in Gaza and is suffering from trembling due to a degenerative muscle disease running in his family.
The family said Zangerker had received “emergency medical intervention” by prisoners of war due to persistent abdominal pain.
New information prompted the Israeli government to end the war and ensure the release of all hostages in Gaza.
“I have learned about torture and the physical and mental suffering my son endures, so I can’t eat and barely breathe. How can my mother survive by knowing that his son suffering from degenerative muscle disease is restrained alone in captivity? Can he even stand on his own?
“I don’t know if he’ll survive longer.”
“While they live in hell, the Israeli government is bombing the area where Matan is held. The Prime Minister can no longer say that he didn’t know or hear. Continuing military pressure, and the isolation that Matan is experiencing leads to his death.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said that Qatar’s senior negotiation team will return to Israel, and that the working-level team will remain “for the time being.”
The negotiations came after President Donald Trump visited the Middle East last week. Netanyahu has made it clear to Israeli teams that they will not end the war in Gaza.
The hostage and missing family forum denounced the Israeli government for not reaching an agreement, saying that “Israel does not have the privilege to abandon negotiations.”
In a statement Tuesday, the forum said: “The supreme moral obligation to bring back the man and woman tempted for 19 months to the end is characterized by continuous and burning failure.
