Israeli circle of relatives mourns ‘guy of peace’ as frame returned from Gaza

From her space in east London, British-Israeli Sharone Lifschitz by no means gave up hope that her 84-year-old father Oded would go back from the horror of Hamas captivity, after greater than 500 days.

He used to be a person of peace, a campaigner for, and a pal of, Palestinians.

He used to be dragged from his house by means of Palestinian gunmen on 7 October and killed in captivity after being taken to Gaza alive.

The go back of his frame on Thursday used to be devastating information for Ms Lifschitz and her circle of relatives, in particular her mom Yocheved who used to be additionally a hostage however returned alive and now won’t be able to reunite together with her husband of 63 years.

After figuring out Oded’s frame, the top of Israel’s Nationwide Institute of Forensic Medication mentioned he have been killed in captivity greater than a 12 months in the past. The Israeli Top Minister’s Place of work mentioned he “used to be murdered in captivity by means of the Islamic Jihad 15 may organization.”

The BBC have been with Sharone, a filmmaker and educational, at her house when the ceasefire used to be introduced final month.

She shed tears of pleasure and hope as finally she noticed a possibility the place she would uncover what had took place to her father. After greater than a 12 months of him being held hostage, she did not know if he used to be alive or useless.

Sharone Lifschitz admitted then that at his age the hopes for his survival have been slender, however she additionally believed “miracles can occur”.

Ms Lifschitz has been an eloquent and dignified voice for the discharge of her father and the opposite hostages, and make clear the trauma the hostage households have confronted since their ordeal started.

“A technique or any other, we can know. We will be able to know if he is nonetheless with us, if we will be able to take care of him. We will be able to know who we’re grieving for… My father did not deserve this.

However she recognised there have been “extra graves to return.”

And now, one can be for her father.

Oded Lifshitz used to be a journalist and veteran campaigner for peace who drove unwell Palestinians to hospitals in Israel for remedy. In his marketing campaign for Palestinian rights he met Yasser Arafat, then head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

He helped to discovered Kibbutz Nir Oz., the place he lived and used to be taken hostage from. It used to be a spot the place he used to be well known for the cacti that he grew, the piano he performed and the grandchildren he adored.

In a tribute, UK Top Minister Sir Keir Starmer mentioned he used to be “deeply saddened” by means of Oded’s demise, and despatched his “heartfelt condolences” to his circle of relatives.

“Once I met Sharone in Downing Side road, she confirmed exceptional energy within the face of essentially the most tricky instances,” Sir Keir mentioned.

“The scoop of her father’s demise is a tragedy. It’s my hope that the peace he labored to peer within the area via his charity paintings and activism can be accomplished.”

About 1,200 folks – most commonly civilians – have been killed within the 7 October assaults and 251 others, together with Oded and Yocheved, taken again to Gaza as hostages. Israel introduced a large army marketing campaign in opposition to Hamas in reaction, which has killed a minimum of 48,297 Palestinians – basically civilians – in step with the Hamas-run well being ministry.

In addition to Oded, 3 different our bodies have been launched by means of Hamas on Thursday – who Hamas mentioned have been Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two younger sons, Ariel and Kfir.

However on Thursday evening, Israel’s army accused Hamas of turning in the frame of an unidentified individual as a substitute of that of Ms Bibas.

“All over the identity procedure, it used to be decided that the extra frame gained isn’t that of Shiri Bibas, and no fit used to be discovered for some other hostage,” the Israel Protection Forces mentioned.

Oded’s spouse Yocheved, who used to be freed as a hostage by means of Hamas in 2023, met then-Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar whilst held within the tunnels beneath Gaza – and advised him he will have to be embarrassed about himself.

The British legal professionals supporting the circle of relatives mentioned “Yocheved should be the one individual to have met Sinwar, Netanyahu and the Pope, and given all of them a work of her thoughts. This is the type of unusual individual she is.”

On Wednesday, as she gained a peace award for her campaigning for the hostages, she mentioned: “Oded used to be a perfect fighter for peace. He had excellent members of the family with Palestinians and the object that hurts essentially the most is that they betrayed him.”

His circle of relatives mentioned they might now mourn for a husband, father, grandfather and nice grandfather, however after “503 agonising days of uncertainty”, that they had “was hoping and prayed for a special consequence”.