Hamas on Saturday published a new photo of hostage Matan Zangauker, claiming Israeli troops were “besieging” the area where he was being held in Gaza and threatening to execute him should troops come near.
The military stressed in a statement that no attempt had been made to extract Zangauker.
In the image, Zangauker is propped up on his side as a blanket covers his lower body, while an IV drip bag can be seen in the background.
“We affirm that the enemy will not be able to recover him alive. We have preserved his life for 20 months; if this prisoner is killed during an attempt to free him, the occupation army will be the one responsible for his death,” said Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
“This is a final warning,” he added.
The photo was published amid intensified military operations throughout Gaza, as negotiations for a new ceasefire and hostage release deal continue.
Following Hamas’s publication of the photo, Zangauker’s mother, Einav, a key figure in the protest movement demanding that the government reach a hostage release deal in exchange for an end to the war, told a 1,000-strong crowd on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road during a weekly protest: “I’m very worried about Matan’s physical and emotional state. I’m very afraid of a deterioration in his condition.”
“Our heart is broken by the knowledge that without [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s political calculations, all this would have been avoided,” she said, adding in remarks addressed to the premier that her son’s “blood will stain your hands” if he fails to bring him back.
Channel 12 reported in May that Zangauker was struggling to stand on his own and was suffering from ongoing intestinal problems and stomach pains. The report was based on an account by released American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, who was held alongside him.
It was reported at the time that Zangauker has gone through long periods of closing himself off in a corner of the tunnel where he is held, refusing to speak or eat, and suffers from shakes and weakness due to muscular atrophy.
Zangauker was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, alongside his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky. Gritzewsky was released on November 30, 2023, as part of a temporary ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
Zangauker’s mother, Einav, has become one of the most recognizable relatives of hostages. The former Netanyahu supporter has led protests and made media appearances in which she has repeatedly demanded a ceasefire-hostage release deal and harshly attacked the government and the prime minister.
Hamas has previously said it would execute hostages if Israeli troops were seen approaching areas where they are being held. In August 2024, Hamas murdered six hostages in Rafah as Israeli forces operated nearby, though the troops were unaware of the hostages’ presence. Their bodies were found a few days after their executions.
Military officials have repeatedly said that every strike and ground operation in Gaza is carefully planned out in order not to endanger Israeli hostages, based on Israeli intelligence.