Confirmed: Body of hostage Oded Lifshitz to be released tomorrow by PIJ

Upon receiving the tragic news, the Lifshitz family, in a statement, shared their sorrowful update: "These hours are not easy for us, after being informed that our beloved Oded is on the list of kidnapped casualties who will return to Israel tomorrow, after being abducted alive from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. For 502 days we hoped and prayed for a different ending, but until we receive absolute certainty, our journey will not end, and even after that, we will continue to fight until the last captive is returned. We ask the media and the public not to contact us at this time on the matter and to respect our privacy."

Oded Lifshitz, an 84-year-old from Kibbutz Nir Oz, is set to be released in the first phase of the hostage deal. Prior to his retirement, he worked as a journalist for Al HaMishmar and was an outspoken advocate for coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. Lifshitz had a clear understanding of the potential consequences if divisions between Israelis and Palestinians grew too deep. As he wrote years ago in Haaretz, “When the Palestinians have nothing to lose, we will lose, big time. The question is, what do we do then?”

His family did fear that he had been lost in the tunnels of Gaza. “It’s hard to think about someone you love suffering so much,” his daughter Sharone Lifshitz told the Jerusalem Report in August 2024. “In some ways, it would be a blessing if he no longer had to experience such distress.” She later told the Associated Press, “I have to say that we are prepared.”

His daughter, Sharone, a British-Israeli peace activist, has been advocating tirelessly for his release and the return of all hostages since that day. In January, Sharone was asked if she believed her father was still alive, to which she responded, “miracles do happen.”

Oded Lifshitz was kidnapped alongside his wife, Yocheved, 82, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was shot in the hand and was lying at the edge of their property the last time his wife saw him. Yocheved was put on the back of a motorbike and driven to Gaza, with their burning house behind her. Sharone Lifshitz described the scene: “They put gas into the house, and it burned, and it burned, and it burned until everything they ever owned, everything, was ashes.” Yocheved was one of the first hostages to be released on October 24, 2023, after 17 days in captivity. She was held separately from Oded and was unable to provide any information about his condition.

The couple was long active in peace and human rights efforts, with their grandson, Daniel Lifshitz, telling Reuters that they were involved with an association called Road to Recovery, which helped Palestinians cross the Erez border to receive medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. "They have been human rights activists, peace activists for all their lives," he said.

Oded Lifshitz’s activism and connections to the Arab world made him well aware of the destructive forces of jihadist groups like Hamas. His daughter Sharone explained, "My father had friends in Gaza and the West Bank, and he knew many Palestinian people. He knew what Hamas was." She also noted that he was fearful of the very tunnels in Gaza where he is believed to be held captive. “Hamas is responsible for the war, but the amount of suffering serves no one,” she said. “The objectives can’t be reached, so why are we still there?”

Sharone also expressed her frustration with the delays in securing the release of her parents, stating, "Israel wasted a lot of goodwill because, in the beginning, we had opportunities to release them that were wasted. We know there were deals on the table, and if Israel had agreed, [the hostages would be home]." She went on to say, “So many people were killed who should have been alive if they did not sabotage this deal. I hope that they know they will have to live with that for the rest of their life, and we will remind them.”

With her father’s release now imminent, Sharone has asked for patience and empathy from the public: "We are about to receive our loved ones after so long where we were unable to love and care for them. There’s so much trauma. I think people have to have a little softness toward it all, just feel it a bit in their hearts. I think feeling the pain of others is the start of building something better."

In a statement made last month, Yizhar, Oded’s son, expressed “grave fear” for his father’s life after more than 16 months in captivity. “I know that the chances for my dad are very slim. He’s an elderly man, but miracles do happen,” Sharone told the BBC in January. “My mum did come back, and one way or another, we will know. We will know if he’s still with us, if we can look after him. We will know… My father didn’t deserve this.”

On October 23, Yocheved was freed along with another captive, Nurit Cooper. The couple, who were among the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, had dedicated much of their lives to peace and humanitarian work, including regularly transporting patients from Gaza to receive medical care in Israeli hospitals.

Sharone Lifshitz, speaking to CNN, described the painful loss: “Their whole house is gone. It’s all burned, and that’s the least of it.”