Tzvika Mor, father of hostage Eitan, visited the Arutz Sheva - Israel National News studio to share the sign of life he had received from his son.
"Eitan is alive. Although we received a sign of life, which is a huge thing after many months of not receiving anything and being in uncertainty, we do not know his condition. We hope he is okay, taking care of himself, that he is strong," says Mor.
Mor urges the public not to let Hamas control public discourse with signs of life. "We must notice that Hamas times its videos and messages in a way that fits what is happening here in the country. That is, close to Shabbat or on Shabbat itself, or during a rally in Hostages Square, so that these statements will serve their goals. The government of Israel and the state of Israel are fighting Hamas. If we do not give them a platform, that is the strongest message we can send them."
Mor would like to see the IDF return to fighting, but believes recovering all the hostages to be more important. "For fifteen months, we called on the government of Israel not to talk with Hamas, not to reach any negotiations, but only to hurt Hamas, so that instead of dealing with hiding hostages, they would be busy surviving. We believe that this is what would have brought all the hostages back a long time ago. After the government of Israel entered into a deal, we demanded that the government of Israel bring everyone back at once, on one bus in one day."
Mor represents a group of families at odds with the Hostages' Families' Headquarters. "They call for a ceasefire. This will create a situation where our many victims in the war were in vain. Hamas will return its old business model, which murders Jews, brings it hundreds of billions of dollars, and will continue to operate. On the other hand, we call on the state of Israel to bring back the hostages in a way that will ensure the security of the citizens of the state of Israel, and we believe that this way is possible. It takes a lot of courage and bravery for that."
He admits that if somehow, Hamas agrees to return all the hostages — the living and those who are not living — he would not oppose it. "Right now, the state of Israel has already entered this path - so let them continue and bring back the hostages. The problem is that in the end, we will reach a situation where a small number of hostages will remain there that Hamas will not release, unless we completely withdraw from Gaza and commit not to attack them at all for a long time."
"If Hamas gives us all the hostages, in exchange for a complete withdrawal of Israel, then I cannot oppose this as the father of a hostage, but I will expect the Prime Minister to explain to the state of Israel in general and to the residents of the bordering area in particular, how he intends to ensure their security when Hamas is 300 meters from them. I do not believe we will get to that, because Hamas will keep hostages for itself and will leave us no choice but to fight and pressure in every way for it to return everyone."
He believes that if Israel returns to fighting, everything will look different. "We have a new Chief of Staff who speaks and acts differently. Southern Command General Yaniv Asur is known to be an excellent and aggressive officer. We will see new things. We do not need to deploy soldiers and endanger them before we have exhausted all the pressure we can exert on the enemy until it surrenders. Until now, we have not done that. We need an effective siege until the enemy surrenders. There is no reason we should lose soldiers before we have exhausted all the levers of pressure against Hamas."
He commented on some of the criticism from other families of hostages against Prime Minister Netanyahu. "Everything depends on the attitude towards the Prime Minister and the government of Israel. If there is goodwill, especially now during the war, when we are supposed to be together as a united front and keep all other decisions for after the war, that is one thing. If we have ill will towards the Prime Minister and the government, we will only see them hampering the war effort."
Mor does not believe that Netanyahu is at fault. "Blinken said several times that Hamas is the one blocking the deal. Netanyahu is committed to the security of the state of Israel. He must return the hostages in a way that brings victory to the state of Israel. Meanwhile, most importantly, the government of Israel has returned 196 hostages, most of whom are alive, and no one is talking about that. So again, there are accusations against the Prime Minister, but first of all, there needs to be goodwill."
He commented on recent clashes between his group and other families of hostages, who accuse him of endangering their loved ones. He specifically criticized the media outlets that had hosted the exchanges. "This is the second time this has happened. We must place love for each other above ratings and the desire to see the families fighting. With most families we have a good relationship. We disagree on the strategy, but not in principle. There are very few families that this does not work with. I want to call on all families to unite together as an iron fist against those who hold our children. It cannot be that we will channel our negative energy inward against the government. We must direct it against those who hold our children and who support and fund Hamas. When they see us together, I am sure that the hostages will return faster."
When asked how he relates to Purim in light of the fact that his son has not yet returned from captivity, Mor answers, "Just as we entered the first Hanukkah that was at the beginning of the war, for Purim, Passover, and the other holidays, we need to continue now. We are at war and the most important thing is to uplift and strengthen the spirit of the people. The war is about spirit, and the people whose spirit is strong will win and dictate the rules to the other side. Therefore, I call on everyone to celebrate Purim this year more than in a regular year. Have more joy, more connections between people, the whole idea of sending gifts of food and gifts to the poor, as mentioned in the Book of Esther. Look outward. It reminds me so much of Eitan, who was busy saving people. He could have taken two, escaped with them, and returned home. But he wanted to save more."
"I specifically call this year, to all the public, to embrace the bereaved families from the war and the families of the wounded, to bring them gifts, and not just to the families of the hostages. There are families that are still in rehabilitation departments with their heroic sons and we must embrace them," he concluded.
Hebrew interview: