War on Hamas will be lost unless hostages freed, says ex-general who saved son

Israel’s war on Hamas will be considered a failed effort unless all remaining hostages are freed, says Noam Tibon, a major general in the reserves who rescued his son and his family from terrorists in Nahal Oz.

“All other objectives come second,” Tibon tells thousands attending a rally Saturday night at Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostages Square. “Unless we bring back all the hostages, we will not win the war on Hamas. And we want to win the war on Hamas. That’s why we must do everting possible to bring them back. This is human life. You can’t put a price on that,” says Tibon, who on October 7 broke into besieged Nahal Oz with several comrades, extracted his son Amir and his family from their homes and helped rescue several other people while exchanging fire with terrorists.

The weeklong lull, followed by the resumption of fighting on Friday, proves “that the Israel Defense Forces can stop fighting and resume it, in the interest of retrieving our hostages,” says Tibon.