25-year-old Eitan Mor returned home as part of a group of 20 living Israeli hostages freed from captivity. Before he was abducted, he worked at a coffee shop in Jerusalem and was the eldest of seven siblings.
On October 7, Mor was at the Nova music festival, where he was working as a security guard. According to his father, he managed to save dozens of people during the attack before he himself was taken captive.
According to Euronews, Mor’s parents helped establish a group of hostage families. The group advocated military pressure rather than a ceasefire or a deal to secure the hostages’ release.
In February, one of the previously released Israelis told Mor’s family that he was alive. He also said that Eitan had acted as a negotiator on behalf of the captives in contacts with Hamas representatives.
Shortly before his release, Mor was able to speak with his parents by video call. His mother said he looked thinner and pale, but was smiling.
“It is hard to describe this: seeing him standing, talking, smiling. It is simply a miracle. He looks wonderful. He is thin and pale, but apart from that, he is doing perfectly. This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment, like a second birthday,” Eitan Mor’s mother said.