Galia David, mother of hostage Evyatar David, who appeared in Hamas's propaganda video on Saturday, described the difficult feelings of watching the video, speaking with multiple Israeli media outlets on Sunday.
"I hesitated for a moment whether I wanted to watch the video, but I felt I had to see my child," she told Army Radio.
"He was frightened and frustrated; it was obvious that he had been staged," she added.
Along with Guy Gilboa-Dalal, David was seen in the video as the two were forced to watch the release of the six hostages from Hamas captivity on Saturday.
"My son is not a great actor, and they still put my son in a role with a gun over his head. I recognize an unfortunate child who is taken; let him look at his friends who were with him in the tunnels and go to the country, and then sent back to the darkness to wander in the tunnels when he doesn't know what's happening to him. This is simply cruelty," she told 103FM.
Speaking with Channel 12, she said her son, who habitually wears glasses, probably did not see well since he was not seen wearing them.
David's mother addressed the sense of relief in receiving a sign of life from her son and in the fact that he was held in captivity with his close friend Guy Gilboa-Dalal.
"I have no doubt that they give each other a great deal of strength," she was cited by the Israeli news outlet as saying.
'The State must return our children'
"I assume that the bonds formed over 16 months are strong regardless. Their fates have become intertwined, and this must end well. The State must return our children," she added.
On Saturday, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham Al-Sayed were released from the Gaza Strip.