We must not forget the horrific moments from October 7th, the moments Matan Zangauker was abducted into Gaza.
On that Black Saturday, Matan and his partner, Ilana Gritzewsky, took shelter in the safe room of their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, which also served as their bedroom. For the first three hours of the attack, they remained relatively calm. Matan kept his mother, Einav, updated through text messages.
Their nightmare began at around 9:30 a.m., when they heard terrorists shouting "Allahu Akbar" and gunfire erupted nearby. At 10:06 a.m., Matan sent his mother one final message: "They're trying to get in."
His frightened mother reassured him that the army was already in the kibbutz, but just two minutes later, at 10:08, all communication was cut off.
In his last message to his uncle, Eliran, Matan had only one plea: "If, God forbid, something happens, please help Mom, Shani, and Tatu" (his sisters).
When the terrorists attempted to break down the door of the safe room, Matan and Ilana made the desperate decision to escape through the window. They jumped out and Ilana froze in fear under a tree when she saw dozens of armed terrorists firing wildly. Meanwhile, Matan ran forward and hid beneath another tree.
Matan's abduction was later reconstructed from videos taken by Hamas, and from interrogations of the terrorists who abducted Matan, and were later captured by the Israeli army. One of those terrorists recounted: "I saw a man hiding in the trees. He said his name was Matan. I took him away. He told me he was from Ofakim and just a tourist in the kibbutz. He gave us water, Nutella, and Coca-Cola." The terrorist continued: "When Matan, Ahmed, and I went out, two terrorists arrived in a big Jeep. There were at least fifteen of them in the vehicle. They took him from me, threw him into the Jeep, and drove straight to Gaza."
A few days later, Matan's family received a devastating video showing him being transported in Khan Younis, likely after being moved to another location. In the footage, Matan is dragged on a motorcycle, flanked by two men, one of them armed. A mob of people in Gaza is seen shouting and celebrating as they surrounded him. Matan's phone was also traced to Gaza, and it was eventually returned to his family.
Ilana, Matan's partner, endured 55 days in captivity before she was finally released. During her time in Gaza, she never saw Matan, despite pleading with the terrorists to allow her to meet him. Shortly before her release, she encountered another hostage, Ofer Kalderon, who reassured her that he had seen Matan alive and in good health, without any injuries.
Matan Zangauker, 24, is held hostage in Gaza for more than a year.
We must not forget Matan and all the hostages who are still held captive in Gaza.
We must bring them all home, Now!
