Captivity survivor Eitan Mor tonight (Tuesday) publicly recounted the two difficult years he spent in Hamas captivity. It was his first public speech since his release.
"All through the war I was in the northern Gaza Strip, and in the first two months of the war I sat in a tunnel with Ziv Berman. As you know, the IDF entered Gaza City with full force at the start of the war, and one night in the tunnel many strikes began and the whole tunnel shook and we thought it would collapse. I tried to think of something I could do. I started to sing songs of Eyal Golan and Ziv joined me. We forgot we were in Gaza for a few moments," Mor recounted at an event hosted by Minister Nir Barkat.
He added, "During the hard times in captivity I would have in my mind the soldiers who fall in the war, those who were murdered on October 7, the bereaved families and the wounded, and I so wanted to go home but I knew the war was necessary to restore security for Israel. I was thankful for every day that I survived."
At the event Minister Barkat presented the "Medal of Valor" to Eitan Mor and to his father, Tzvika. Barkat awarded the medal to Eitan Mor for "his heroism in captivity and since his return," while Dr. Tzvika Mor received the medal for "managing the struggle responsibly for the return of the abductees, with the welfare of the State of Israel foremost in his mind."