KFAR ETZION, Judea – While many families of hostages held in Gaza want the government to make a deal with Hamas for their release, other families want the focus to be on eliminating the terrorist group for the overall good of the Jewish people and the nation.
Tzvika Mor, whose son Eitan is a hostage, is one of them.
As a security guard at the Nova Music Festival, Eitan Mor saved many people before Hamas terrorists kidnapped him. He just celebrated his 24th birthday in captivity.
“Eitan is a hero. Yes. He could have escaped again. He could escape, but He chose to help people, to save people,” Tzvika Mor told CBN News.
Mor says they've received two reports from Israeli intelligence that his son is alive.
“One before the first deal in the first 50 days after October 7th. And the other one was from one of the hostages (who) was released. He said to the intelligence that he saw Eitan in a tunnel. And they sat together and (spoke),” Mor stated.
Shortly after October 7th, Mor felt the need to support a strong military effort rather than a deal with Hamas for the return of his son and other hostages. That's why he helped start the Tikva (Hope) Forum.
“We understand our own role. And in this case, we understand that we have to stop a crazy deal with the terrorists. We were here in (the) Shalit Deal (the bargaining for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas in 2006 and released five years later, in exchange for more than a thousand Palestinian and Arab-Israeli prisoners). That crazy deal. And we think that God gave us this role to stop and to save the people of Israel from another crazy deal,” Mor explained.
Included in that group: Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza and mastermind of the October 7th assault.
“Only one terrorist (was) enough to make October 7th, as we saw. So that's the reason that we established the Tikva Forum because we have different values and messages from the other families,” Mor said.
Ironically, months before the assault, Eitan and his father talked during a Shabbat meal about the deal leading to Gilad Shalit’s release.
“In the end of the discussion, Eitan told us that if he (is ever held) hostage, he (doesn’t) allow us to release him for terrorists. So I know exactly what my son thinks about this issue,” he said bravely.
Dozens of the hostages' relatives make up Tikva Forum. Their motto: “only pressure Hamas” for the release of the hostages, not the government.
“Israel must defeat Hamas. Not only for the hostages but for all the people of Israel, for the seven million and a half Jews here in the State of Israel.”
Mor gave prime examples from the 70's when Israel rescued hostages instead of making deals to obtain their release. They included high-profile events like the hijacking of an Air France passenger flight where hostages were freed in the Entebbe raid, the PLO's attack on Tel Aviv's Savoy Hotel, and the attack and kidnapping of children on a field trip in Ma’alot, northern Israel.
Even so, he doesn't believe all the hostages can be rescued in an operation like we saw in early June, in which four hostages were set free from two separate locations.
“But Israel can press Hamas," Mor declared. "Look, today we were giving Hamas humanitarian aid, crazy humanitarian aid. It's not only, bread and water, it's cigarettes and candies and pastries and everything. We can see the markets in Gaza, all the markets. So, we have to make (a) crisis in Gaza, if we want to get our loved ones,” he explained.
Mor believes the only solution is total victory.
“We have to say to all the world that we are going to win this war. The second step is to stop the humanitarian aid. I want the Arabs in Gaza to starve. I want them to beg us for (a) half cup of water. And after they will give us our hostages, we have to continue to crush the Hamas,” he added.
And, he adds Israel must stay in Gaza, and eventually resettle there, because if not, Hamas will only reorganize.
“They have only one target: destroying Israel. God gave us this country and this coastline. This is our (land) like Tel Aviv is our land. So, we don't have to be ashamed. This is our only state on the globe,” he emphasized.
Mor, a resident near Hebron for 25 years, says his holy values give him hope, and he knows his son feels the same way.
“We understand that we have to fight for this country and sometimes, we have to sacrifice. But we don't want to sacrifice. We want to kill our enemies. We want to live here. We don't want to die here,” he said.
Mor says it's all about the future of Israel and that's what the Tikva Forum is.
“You must support the State of Israel and especially Tikva Forum because we are the hostages’ families. We are in the (frontline) of the war,” he said.
Mor, a father of eight, lost his job since the October 7th attack because he is devoting all his time to speaking out on behalf of his son and the other hostages.
He says America must stand with Israel for America's own good.
“We are fighting your war. These barbarians are on the way to Europe and to America. If you want to live, you have to stand with us. You have to help us to crush them here before they’re coming to America.”
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