Yochanan, the brother of Alon Shamriz, one of the hostages taken by Hamas, told Kan that he believes the government is not a deciding factor in the release of the hostages.
"After half an hour in Washington, I understood there was no point in returning to Israel, I felt that there was no meaning to anything being done there. Our government is not in control of the situation and is not responsible for the deals - that is the field of Qatar, the USA, and perhaps Egypt. Our government is a passive party," he accused. "We need to put 90% of our public diplomacy efforts in the USA and Europe."
Shamriz recounts his brother's abduction: “He sent me a message that terrorists had entered his apartment. I told him to stay strong, and he sent a heart emoji. That was my last contact with him. I had already begun to mourn him, and only ten days later was I told he had been confirmed abducted.”
He also commented on the prisoner exchange deal: “It tears you up internally. On one hand, you are full of happiness seeing children returning home, and on the other, it is extremely painful and concerning that your brother is still there and you don't know when he will be back. This uncertainty is a very complicated situation.”