From the Liveblog of
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Hostage’s grandson speaks of families’ grief: ‘It’s like a Memorial Day for us today’
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Daniel Lifshitz, grandson of hostage Oded Lifshitz, 84, describes the grief of the hostage families for the families of the six hostages killed in Hamas captivity and found by IDF soldiers.
“It’s like a Memorial Day for us today,” says Lifshitz.
Daniel Lifshitz grew up with Carmel Gat, one of the six hostages found dead on Saturday. Another one of Lifshitz’s close friends, Sagui Dekel-Chen, is still held hostage in Gaza after being taken captive from Nir Oz.
“I barely slept last night,” says Lifshitz, referring to the Saturday night news that six hostages were found dead, prior to the release of their names. “It could have been my grandfather or Arbel Yehud,” another Kibbutz Nir Oz hostage.
Lifshitz’s family has had no information about his grandfather since the return of some hostages at the end of November, one of whom was held hostage with him.
Lifshitz says that rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi told the hostage families that his time in Gaza felt like 80 years long. He barely received food and water and lost 20 kilos (44 pounds) during his months of captivity.
On October 7, Lifshitz’s grandfather and grandmother were taken captive from their sealed room in Kibbutz Nir Oz, but not together. Oded Lifshitz was badly injured on his hand when the terrorists shot through the door. When Yocheved Lifshitz, Daniel’s grandmother, 86, was released on October 23 with another Nir Oz hostage, Nirit Cooper, she told her family that she had last seen her husband lying in the backyard after the terrorists threw him there.
“She is very, very sad this week,” said Daniel Lifshitz of his grandmother, who buried four of her Nir Oz friends last week, hostages Avraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Yoram Metzger, and Chaim Peri. “Today she’s brokenhearted.”
Lifshitz says he expects the Biden administration to place more pressure on the Israeli government to make a deal, and for Israelis to take to the streets as part of protests this afternoon and evening in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, in order to put pressure on the government cabinet to change their decision about insisting on keeping troops on the Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza rather than signing a hostage deal.
“It’s just so painful,” said Lifshitz. “So much pain and sorrow, I don’t wish anyone to have a family member held hostage. We may never know their fate.”
