For 681 days, Matan Zangauker has been held in captivity. On Sunday night, Israelis were confronted with a chilling reminder of that reality when the IDF released a newly obtained video showing the 22-year-old hostage speaking from inside Gaza. The clip, believed to have been filmed several months ago, was published with the consent of his mother, Einav.

In the video, Matan addresses his sisters Natalie (“Tato”) and Shani, and his partner, Ilana Grichevsky. “Tato, Shani, Ilana, I miss you. G-d willing, we’ll see each other soon. To all my acquaintances, all my friends — go out, make noise like only you know how, and with G-d’s help we’ll see each other soon.”

Matan’s eyes linger at the end of the recording, a silent plea that his mother said haunts her nights. Speaking at Hostages’ Square, Einav Zangauker’s voice cracked with anguish: “I am burning with longing. My whole heart is on fire, my Matan. Your quiet gaze at the end of the video stays with me as I toss and turn at night. It burns that I cannot hug you, hear you, or hold you.”

Einav’s grief quickly turned to fury as she accused Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government of failing to prioritize the hostages.

“The Israeli government has never made a genuine effort toward a comprehensive agreement or an end to the war,” she said. “They turned the most just war into a false one. If Netanyahu truly wants a comprehensive agreement, he should put a practical plan on the table—otherwise, he is simply lying.”

Her words drew thunderous applause from the crowd gathered in Tel Aviv. “There may be no worthy government, but we have a people,” she declared. “We rose on October 7 to save the country, and we rise now to save the hostages and our soldiers. We demand what is rightfully ours—our children. And we will keep demanding it until we get it.”

Earlier that day, Hostages’ Square witnessed a painful symbolic act. Ilana, Matan’s partner, stood beneath a chuppah and “married” him in absentia. Holding the poles were parents of other hostages — among them Jon Polin, father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, murdered in captivity, and Michel Illouz, whose son Guy’s body remains in Gaza.

Clad in a black veil, Einav stood by her side. Ilana’s voice broke as she addressed the man she has not seen in nearly two years: “If you hadn’t been kidnapped, we could already have been married. I can’t stop thinking about what was taken from us, about the innocence and love stolen from us in a single day. Our world was destroyed, and you’re not here with me to hug me, and I can’t be with you to strengthen you.”

“Matan, my love, I love you. I am fighting for you until you return,” she continued. “Until you and all the hostages come back, we will bring you back alive, and together we will rebuild and, G-d willing, build our Jewish home here in Israel.”

As Einav and Ilana concluded their remarks, the crowd roared back in unison: “You are not alone, we are with you.”

“My Matan, my hero, I am so proud of you for holding on these 681 days,” Einav told her son from the stage. “We are fighting for you; an entire nation is fighting for you. Hold on — we are on our way to bring everyone home.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)