Chagai Angrest, the father of abducted IDF soldier Matan Angrest told Walla on Wednesday that the family received a sign of life from Matan from the male hostages released on Shabbos. Matan was on duty on October 7 and was abducted from his tank position at Nachal Oz, seriously wounded and unconscious, and suffering from burns. The other members of the tank crew, Itai Chen, H’yd, Daniel Peretz, H’yd, and Tomer Leibovitz, H’yd, were killed in battle and the bodies of Chen and Peretz were abducted into Gaza. Matan’s mother Anat told Channel 12: “While we have received confirmation that Matan is alive, he is being held in extremely harsh conditions. We know he was captured while serving in his IDF uniform,” a reference to testimony from released hostage Or Levy who said his captors emphasized his military status and subjected him to severe interrogations. A previous sign of life from Matan was received in September 2024 in a psychological terror video. The male hostages released on Shabbos previously provided signs of life for eight hostages being held in Gaza. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)