Matan Angrest

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Matan Angrest
Angrest a week after his release from captivity by Hamas
Born (2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 (age 23)
Known forthe Gaza war hostage crisis

Matan Shahar Angrest (Hebrew: [1]מתן שחר אנגרסט; born 28 November 2002) is an Israeli soldier who was abducted by Hamas terrorists on 7 October 2023 during the attack on Nahal Oz. Serving as a tank driver in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he was taken hostage during the events of the October 7 massacre and became one of 251 individuals abducted during the Iron Swords War.[2] He was released from captivity on 13 October 2025 along with 19 other hostages.

Early life

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Angrest in 2021 at a ceremony in which he was awarded his military beret

Angrest was born on 28 November 2002 to Anat and Haggai and has three younger siblings.[3] He grew up in Kiryat Bialik and enlisted in the IDF in August 2021, serving as a tank driver in the Armored Corps.[2]

Abduction

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On 7 October 2023, during the Hamas attack on southern Israel, Angrest and his tank crew, commanded by Captain Daniel Peretz, were deployed to the Nahal Oz sector to defend communities surrounding Gaza.[2] During the broader assault, the Nahal Oz base itself, located just 850 meters from the Gaza border, was overrun by a large Hamas force that breached the perimeter, killed numerous soldiers, and abducted others as the position rapidly collapsed.[4]

Angrest served as the driver of Peretz's tank, and besides them the crew included sergeant first class Itay Chen (gunner) and sergeant Tomer Leibowitz (loader). After the start of the Hamas attack, the tank fought militants near the border barrier for an hour, before being hit and disabled just outside the Nahal Oz outpost. Peretz, Chen and Leibowitz were killed, and Angrest was wounded and captured; the bodies of Peretz and Chen were also taken to Gaza (they would be returned after more than two years as part of the October 2025 Hamas–Israel agreement).[3][5] On 3 April 2025, video footage of Angrest's abduction was released, showing him being dragged from his tank and violently lynched while unconscious.[5] Additional footage showed him injured, bruised, and interrogated.[6][7]

Captivity

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Testimony from fellow hostages indicated that Angrest was held in underground tunnels and subjected to repeated physical abuse and harsh interrogations.

During an episode of the investigative program Uvda, IDF observers abducted from the Nahal Oz outpost who were held with him in a tunnel described severe abuse. Daniella Gilboa recounted that Angrest entered a section of the tunnel he was not supposed to; when Hamas operatives discovered this, they beat him and “showed him no mercy.” Karina Ariev stated, “They beat him until he understood and stopped going to that area. Liri Albag added: “They punish, they abuse. Even when it isn’t physical, and sometimes it is, it’s psychological. ‘You will not return,’ ‘Like Gilad Shalit.’”[8]

Statements provided to his family described additional mistreatment, including episodes in which he was reportedly brought close to suffocation and allowed to surface briefly to breathe just before losing consciousness.[2]

On 25 April, former hostage Roni Krivoi, abducted on October 7 and released in the November 2023 exchange, reported that he had been held in the same tunnel as Angrest and that captors connected Angrest to a car battery and electrocuted him.[9][10][11]

A leaf bearing the name of Matan Angrest in the “Yellow Leaves” installation for the return of the hostages, located in Hostages Square near the mall in the city of Rehovot, January 2025, during the Iron Swords War.

Despite these conditions, Angrest maintained a prayer routine after his captors granted his request for tefillin, a prayer book, and a Bible.[12]

Efforts to secure his release

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In the aforementioned Uvda episode featuring the abducted observers, Angrest’s parents also appeared and spoke with them.[13] On 21 April 2025, members of his family joined a demonstration outside the Begin Gate of the Kirya in Tel Aviv, wearing green clothing and makeup resembling blood, stating: “This is a reminder of the lynching Matan experienced.”[14][15]

Release

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Angrest was released on 13 October 2025 as part of a negotiated agreement between Israel and Hamas, along with 19 other hostages.[16][17][18] Upon his return, his family reported that he bore signs of torture, including burn marks, though he was in generally stable medical condition.[19]

Retaliation

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Following his release, Angrest disclosed that several locations in which he had been held were targeted in Israeli airstrikes during the war. Although he was not injured in these strikes, the attacks formed part of Israel’s broader military campaign aimed at dismantling Hamas’s infrastructure, including tunnel networks used to hold hostages.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ערוץ 7. "חגי אנגרסט: הוספנו שם לבני החטוף". ערוץ 7 (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d צ'כנובר, יעל; אל-חי, ליאור (3 April 2025). "נחטף מהטנק, עובר ניסיון לינץ' ומתושאל ע"י מחבל: התיעודים המטלטלים של מתן". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  3. ^ a b "סמ"ר מתן אנגרסט מביאליק נלחם בדרום - ונעדר מאז". mynetkrayot (in Hebrew). 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  4. ^ Fabian, Emanuel (3 March 2025). "'Systemic failure': How Nahal Oz base, 850 meters from Gaza yet utterly vulnerable, fell to Hamas". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  5. ^ a b "לבד מול מאות מחבלים: צפו בתמונות הראשונות מחטיפתו של מתן אנגרסט | ישראל היום". www.israelhayom.co.il. 3 April 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  6. ^ קשת 12, דסק (4 April 2025). "אחיו של מתן אנגרסט: "היו פרטים קשים יותר שעוד לא פרסמנו"". mako (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ גונן, איל (3 April 2025). "תמונות חדשות של מתן אנגרסט מהשבי נחשפות". N12 (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  8. ^ איל גונן, נחטף מחוסר הכרה ומוחזק בכלוב: עדויות התצפיתניות על מצבו הקשה של מתן אנגרסט, באתר מאקו,(in Hebrew), 3 באפריל 2025
  9. ^ "חוטפיו של מתן אנגרסט ניסו להעיר אותו באמצעות מכות חשמל - בחדרי חרדים". www.bhol.co.il (in Hebrew). 26 April 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  10. ^ ""מחשמלים אותו": רון קריבוי החטוף שנמלט בעצמו מעזה חושף את מצבו של מתן אנגרסט". www.maariv.co.il (in Hebrew). 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  11. ^ "רון קריבוי: הוחזקתי במנהרה עם מתן אנגרסט, מתעללים בו ומחשמלים אותו". Haaretz הארץ (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 25 April 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  12. ^ ציוץ של יואלי ברים yoeli brim ברשת החברתית אקס (טוויטר), 15 באוקטובר 2025 (in Hebrew)
  13. ^ "אילנה דיין חצתה את כל הגבולות עם הוריו של מתן אנגרסט | מיקי לוין". www.maariv.co.il (in Hebrew). 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  14. ^ ""נתניהו ודרמר לא ידעו שהוא נפצע - המחשנו עבורם": מיצג מחאה למתן אנגרסט". www.maariv.co.il (in Hebrew). 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  15. ^ צ'כנובר, יעל (21 April 2025). "תצפיתניות עבר ומשפחות חטופים מפגינות בת"א: "תזכורת ללינץ' שעבר מתן אנגרסט"". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  16. ^ "ימים אחרי ששבו מהשבי: מתן, מתן ועמרי שוחררו מבית החולים | חדשות 13". רשת 13 (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  17. ^ "שורד השבי מתן אנגרסט שוחרר לביתו מבית החולים איכילוב - ערוץ 14 | C14". www.c14.co.il (in Hebrew). 17 October 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  18. ^ אל-חי, ליאור; גליקמן, איתן; גורדון, ליהיא (13 October 2025). "לוחם השריון מתן אנגרסט הגיע לישראל, הוריו: "התחושה - כאילו הולכים ללדת"". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  19. ^ a b ""התפלל שלוש פעמים ביום בשבי": סבא וסבתא של מתן אנגרסט מספרים על המפגש הראשון | ישראל היום". www.israelhayom.co.il. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.