Mother of Hostage tells Netanyahu to either defeat Hamas or surrender

Ditza Or: “Netanyahu — If you do not intend to secure a complete victory, then surrender. Bring back all the hostages and end this chapter.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Ditza Or, the mother of hostage Avinatan Or, criticized the Israeli government for being “on the fence” with its Gaza policy and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to either decisively defeat Hamas or concede to a cease-fire deal that would bring all of the hostages home.

Speaking Thursday at the National Vision Conference, organized by the Tkuma movement and the Yesha Council, she described her daughter’s wedding plans and how she wished her son, still held in Gaza, could attend.

“Next week, our daughter Emuna is getting married, and our hearts are filled with hope that Avinatan will surprise us and arrive, just as he always did. This dream is what sustains us.”

Speaking of Oct. 7 and the ensuing war, Or said that if no hostages had been taken on Oct. 7—only the other attacks—Israel would already have launched a major military offensive and been closer to victory.

She added that the fact that hostages remain gives the government a reason to keep talking about broader regional goals, like a “new Middle East.”

“I didn’t choose this path. I demand his return — but as long as he’s there, I see it as a mission,” Or said.

She was critical of the government’s handling of both the war and the hostage crisis and said it was “on the fence” because it had neither secured the release of the captives nor decisively achieved “total victory,” a stated goal of the war.

“We are not conducting a real war aimed at bringing everyone back. Soldiers returning from the field describe operational constraints and restrictions. There is no fighting directed at securing a decisive result.”

Addressing the prime minister, Or said: “Netanyahu — if you do not intend to secure a complete victory, then surrender. Bring back all the hostages and end this chapter. But right now, the State of Israel is on the fence — not rescuing the hostages, not eliminating Hamas, while contending with international condemnations and sanctions. I call on the Israeli government to make a decision — honestly, sincerely and with integrity. Only then can we win this war.”