Captivity survivor Gadi Mozes spoke on Saturday night at a rally organized by the Hostages’ Families Forum at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
“For 729 days, our brothers and sisters held hostage have been suffering in Hamas’s dungeons,” Mozes said. “They endure severe hunger, thirst, lack of air, and no basic human treatment or care. I know what they’re going through - I was there. I stand before you today, functioning, but as long as they remain in captivity, my mind and soul are still trapped there.”
“This week, we heard statements from President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, and yesterday, Hamas’s response,” he continued. “I know the road ahead is long and fraught with obstacles, but today I can say that for the first time since my release from captivity, I’ve heard statements that give me a sliver of hope.”
“If both sides have indeed accepted President Trump’s terms and are ready to move the process forward, now is the time to hold fire and focus on bringing all the hostages home and ending the war,” Mozes stated.
“For far too long, bringing the hostages home and ending the war seemed impossible. Today, we must turn the impossible into possible. It has to happen now.”
Mozes moved the crowd with his pledge to return and rebuild Nir Oz: “We will never forget the many families and friends we’ve lost. And yet, I am determined to return to live in Nir Oz and rebuild it from the ground up. I call on everyone who can lend a hand in restoring the Gaza envelope and Nir Oz to do so.”
“On October 7, the people of Israel endured the most devastating event since the Holocaust,” he added. “Since then, there isn’t a single citizen in Israel who hasn’t experienced loss from this, the longest war in our history. The war in Gaza today is not an existential necessity, and ending it is essential to bring all the hostages home and to rebuild Israeli society and our country. It is essential so we can live again by the values on which this nation was built and by which we’ve lived our entire lives.”
Mozes also shared a message of gratitude for the security forces, saying: “I want to take this opportunity to thank the IDF soldiers and security forces who work tirelessly, day and night, to keep our country safe.”