Captivity survivor Matan Zangauker shared the intense confrontations he faced with his captors, recounting how he responded to threats, lies, and humiliation from the terrorists despite the constant danger to his life.
“There was one particular captor who came every evening,” Zangauker told Channel 12 News. “He would say, ‘We took down 20 tanks for you today, we killed soldiers.’ I would answer him, ‘That can’t be, you don’t have the tools.’ Every time I spoke up, I got beaten.”
He explained the reason behind his defiance: “I felt I had to defend the honor of the soldiers. I was in the army, I love my country, and it hurt me to hear him speak that way. I couldn’t stay silent.”
Journalist Yolan Cohen, who conducted the interview and accompanied Zangauker’s mother, Einav, throughout his captivity, said: “He is an upgraded version of Einav.” She noted that the terrorists tried to convince him that Israel had abandoned him.
“They wanted him to despair,” Cohen said. “They told him Israel wasn’t fighting for him, but he refused to believe it. He kept saying, ‘I know my country and my family.’”
Since his release, Zangauker has also confronted a wave of misinformation online. “Thousands are spreading theories that he was never in captivity, that he was hiding in Egypt or Qatar. It’s simply shocking,” Cohen said. “Even ordinary people ask, ‘What was really going on there?’ It’s terrible.”