From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 12, 2025
Ben Gvir backs father of hostage calling for resumption of war
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appears to endorse a call to resume the war following the release of the hostages, retweeting a post by the right-wing Tikva Forum demanding the complete conquest of the Gaza Strip.
The Tikva Forum, a hawkish group comprised of relatives of hostages in Hamas captivity, shared a video of co-founder Tzvika Mor saying that while he is happy to see his son Eitan freed in the coming day, he is not satisfied with an agreement which entails the release of “250 vile murderers,” referring to terror convicts set to be released from Israeli prison as part of the deal.
“We are now building with our own hands the next Hamas leadership that will try to massacre and murder our children and grandchildren. We repeatedly bring disasters upon ourselves and then we send our children to clean up after us,” Mor states in the video.
The forum represents the small minority of hostage relatives who believe that Israel should not make significant concessions to free their captive loved ones.
Mor argues that following the release of the last hostage, Israel needs to “say we do not make agreements with such enemies, we are destroying Hamas,” and that “every tiny violation will be a pretext for us to enter Gaza and wipe them out.”
He also calls for Gazans to be evacuated from the Strip and for Israel to reoccupy the enclave, both of which are supported by Ben Gvir.
“Only when the Gaza Strip is in our hands will there be peace here,” says Mor.
The Times of Israel Community.