Captivity survivor Gadi Mozes on Thursday issued a statement, his first since his release from captivity, in which he addressed the Prime Minister and urged him to work toward the return of all the hostages.
"I was there. For 482 days, I was there and I suffered. I saw all the horrors that our people are enduring there. The urgency of their release is of the utmost priority. Every moment, something could happen. I was released after 482 days. I came back alive, but with every additional day that someone remains, we increase the risk of them not returning and of their death," Mozes said.
He recounted painfully, "I suffered there from all sorts of mental hardships and physical abuses. Just recently, we buried my dear friend Oded Lifshitz, and Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, and today we learned that Itzik Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur, Ohad Yahalomi, and Tsachi Idan are also no longer among the living."
"I want to thank all the masses who go out every week and every day, everywhere, to help and raise public awareness to free all our hostages as quickly as possible, all in order to prevent the deaths of those held in Gaza under harsh conditions. I want to salute the soldiers who returned, to share in the grief of the families who lost their loved ones, and to wish a speedy recovery to the wounded who also risked their lives to save me, my friends, and our entire people."
"I hereby pledge to join the fight for the release of the hostages, down to the very last one, and with all my strength to join the teams rehabilitating the Nir Oz community, to transform the kibbutz back from a burned area into a flourishing and thriving garden," Mozes concluded.
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