In an emotional reunion with bereaved parents Eliyahu and Avishag Libman, freed hostage Eitan Mor recalls the chaos, bravery, and heartbreak of the Hamas massacre that claimed the life of their heroic son, Elyakim.
Two years after enduring unimaginable captivity in Gaza, Eitan Mor — one of the last Israeli hostages freed from Hamas — sat down last Friday with Eliyahu and Avishag Libman, parents of the late Elyakim Libman, the young hero who gave his life rescuing the wounded at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.
In a heart-wrenching conversation captured on video, Mor revisited the terrifying first moments of the Hamas invasion, sharing memories that continue to haunt him.
“A lot of people started running in our direction,” Mor recalled quietly. “Then the gunfire started — close, very close. We lay flat on the ground. I could hear people screaming, girls crying. We said to each other, ‘It’s the Tavor, it’s Golani — they’ve come to save us.’ We had no idea what was happening.”
Mor, who was abducted alongside his friend Rom Braslavski, described the chaos as bullets tore through the grove near Re’im.
“There was a kind of valley there,” he said. “People were lying everywhere. I tried to call my dad, but it was a holiday — he didn’t have his phone. I called Eli David on video and told him, ‘Call the IDF — what’s going on here?!’”
Then came the last message from his friend, Elyakim Libman — a message that would become part of Israel’s tragic memory of that dark day.
“Elyakim texted me, ‘I’m in a tent with the wounded,’” Mor said. “I told Rom, ‘I’m going to Elyakim — I need to see what his situation is.’”
Moments later, Elyakim — who had rescued dozens of festival-goers under heavy fire — was murdered by Hamas terrorists when he returned to help the injured near an ambulance. His courage, witnesses later said, saved countless lives.
For Eitan, Elyakim’s memory remains a symbol of Israeli heroism in the face of barbaric terror. “He was a lion,” Mor told the Libmans. “Even in those moments, all he cared about was helping others.”
The Libmans listened through tears as Eitan described his final memories of their son. Their meeting, arranged after his release, represented more than shared grief — it was a moment of national healing, uniting the families of Israel’s victims and survivors.
Today, as Eitan rebuilds his life, Elyakim’s legacy lives on — a reminder that even amid terror and darkness, Israel’s spirit of courage and compassion never dies.
