Ex-hostage at Knesset: Netanyahu made promises at Nir Oz visit, then ‘forgot about us’

Addressing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, the widow of murdered hostage Oded Lifshitz, says that her home of Kibbutz Nir Oz was “completely abandoned by the government and the army” during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

“We were left for hours in the hands of Hamas [terrorists] who abused, slaughtered, and ate the breakfast left by the kibbutz residents,” she says.

“I ask this government, until when? You know that I lost a kilo every two days in captivity — now think about those who are still there. You are discussing everything other than bringing them home. Today, when I travel to Nir Oz, one of the hardest things for me is seeing that 85% of the kibbutz is burned, that one in four has either been kidnapped or murdered, and Bibi remembered to come visit [only] after a year and seven months,” she says, using Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname.

Netanyahu made significant promises during that visit, “and the moment he crossed the fence, he forgot about us,” she continues.

The committee is also addressed by several Holocaust survivors who call on the government to return the hostages.

Survivor Michael Adam recalls being detained by the Nazis in northern France during World War II and held in a camp for nearly a year. He says he was nothing but skin and bones when he was released and that the trauma “has plagued us for our entire lives” and continued for generations.

“Wake up, bring everybody home,” another survivor yells.