Mother of Israeli Captive Appeals to Hamas and Trump in Emotional Video
Einav Zangauker pleads for her son's release, urges Hamas to show proof of life, and calls on President Trump to help end the war and secure a prisoner deal.
Watan-The mother of an Israeli detainee in the Gaza Strip released a video message on Thursday addressed to Hamas and U.S. President Donald Trump, mimicking the style of videos occasionally released by Palestinian resistance factions showing Israeli captives.
In the video, Einav Zangauker, mother of captive Matan Zangauker, speaks in both Arabic and Hebrew:“I am Einav, the mother of Matan Zangauker. We, like our sons, feel that we too have been prisoners of Hamas for more than 500 days. Fear and loneliness are killing them, and they’re killing us too. Will our sons ever return home? Don’t forget them, and don’t forget us.
I appeal to the leaders of Hamas in Khan Younis and to their guards, and I ask you to take care of them until a deal is completed.”
עינב צנגאוקר פונה בערבית לחמאס: “צלמו את הבנים, תראו להם את הסרטון הזה”https://t.co/bYp6JXniX5 pic.twitter.com/R4DHcbMETC
— ynet עדכוני (@ynetalerts) March 27, 2025
Mother of Israeli Captive Urges Trump to Help End War, Calls for Proof of Life
She then addresses President Trump directly:“President Trump, please, do everything you can. The Israeli government must bring back all our sons who are still held by Hamas—otherwise, the war will not end. It’s time to end this nightmare.”
She also pleaded with the Palestinian factions holding the detainees to care for them and film them:“I ask their guards to film them. I ask the guards of my son: please film him for me.
I hope you will show this video to our sons. Our sons need us to be strong for one another. Matan, my son—your mother is on the way, with Ilana, Natalie, Shani, and an entire nation. We fight every day to bring you home. Hold on, you will get out of there and return to us. We are all fighting for you.”
Zangauker is considered one of the most prominent figures leading protest movements calling for an end to the war and the return of all Israeli detainees through a deal with Hamas.
In February, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, sent her a “gift” via released captive Yair Hurin during the first phase of the prisoner exchange. The gift was an hourglass inscribed with the words “Time is running out,” along with her photo and a photo of her captive son.
Zangauker rejected the idea that this was psychological warfare, commenting at the time:“This is not psychological terrorism. This is a sign of life from Matan and all our young heroes—our soldiers.”
During a session of the Finance Committee in the Israeli Knesset, she affirmed that the message from the hourglass was “the truth and reality—time really is running out.”
