Hagai Angrest, the father of Israeli hostage Matan Angrest, said that White House officials told him that "public opinion in Israel is not in favor of releasing the hostages after Israeli ministers gave them incorrect information," when he visited Washington DC in March, he told Army Radio on Thursday.
"Three months ago, that’s the information that was being leaked to them [White House members] over there. I was the one who showed them polls with over 70% support in Israel for stopping the war and releasing the hostages," he said.
During his visit to the US in March, Angrest said: “We know today he [Matan] is alive, but tomorrow, we don’t know what will happen. We saw his hand not moving, his face broken, his nose broken—something in his eyes.”
“They [US officials] are doing everything they can to release all the hostages from captivity,” he stated.
In addition, he revealed that in all of the meetings he had with US officials, the negotiating team told him that "this [returning the hostages] is a high priority for them.”
Angrest addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
A first sign of life emerged in September 2024 from Matan Angrest, the soldier kidnapped while severely wounded and unconscious during the fighting in Gaza on October 7.
Angrest, who served in a tank unit, was captured alongside his fellow soldiers, Itai Chen, Daniel Peretz, and Tomer Leibovitz – all of whom were killed in the battle.
In a video published by Hamas, Angrest addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from captivity in Gaza, urging him to secure his release. "Netanyahu, you must make the exchange between the prisoners in Israel and the prisoners here," he said. "I believe you're capable of it; you just need to want it."