The purported remains of Oded Lifshitz, 84, one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, were returned to Israel on Thursday, as part of the first phase of the hostage deal after his death has been all but confirmed a day earlier. Lifshitz was abducted from his home during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack alongside his wife, Yocheved.
The body was handed over to Israel on Thursday as part of the latest swap in the hostage deal with Hamas, after which confirmation of its identity through forensics analysis will be carried out.
Five Hamas operatives broke into the safe room where the couple was sheltering; Oded was shot in the hand and lost consciousness, while Yocheved was pulled from her bed. It was later discovered that Oded was initially held in an apartment in Khan Yunis, but after 20 days in captivity, when his health deteriorated, his whereabouts became unknown.
Yocheved was freed about two weeks after the abduction together with Nurit Cooper, whose husband, Amiram Cooper, was killed in Hamas captivity.
“After 50 days, when the released women came out, it turned out that one of them, a member of Nir Oz, was with him,” Yocheved said. “She told us that he was alive and said that he functioned well and helped her a lot because she was having a very difficult time. On the 20th day, he felt unwell, and they dragged him out of the room. Since then, his whereabouts have been unknown, and we know nothing about him.”
Oded Lifshitz was a journalist, a prominent figure in the kibbutz movement and a peace activist. He volunteered with the Road to Recovery organization, which transports Palestinian children who are ill to hospitals in Israel. In their yard at Nir Oz, Oded and Yocheved nurtured a magnificent cactus garden, which remained abandoned after their abduction. Dozens of volunteers came together to rehabilitate the garden as a symbol of solidarity and hope for his return.
His grandson, Daniel Lifshitz, a former goalkeeper for Israeli soccer clubs and for the national under-21 team, has been campaigning since the kidnapping to secure his grandfather’s release. “This is an impossible situation to prepare for,” he said previously. “The last thing I want is to prepare for a celebration and a funeral simultaneously.”
